Ice of Oblivion
by MissDimple
Summary: AU. In a time of great crisis angels and humans form an alliance to combat the uprising of the demon race. In the middle of this conflict is Prince Dean and Castiel, an elite angel. This is their story; their love in the dawning of a new dynasty.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Ice of Oblivion Chapter 1/?  
Fandom/Genre: SPN AU Romance, Drama, Action  
Pairing (s): Dean/Castiel  
Rating: T  
Word Count: ~82,000  
Warnings: Underage, Mild Sexual Situation, Violence

Summary: AU. _In a time of great tragedy in the lands of Mamot, the human race and the angel race are forced to form an unbreakable union that will bind them together for twenty seven lifetimes in order to stop the uprising of the demon race. In bargain they offer Castiel, one of the most powerful angels in the entire world to marry Dean Winchester, the young crown prince of the human world. The typically detached Castiel winds up falling in love with the Prince. The only problem is his brothers don't expect Dean to live through the war. Will Castiel stay and support the man he loves despite the heartbreak that might accompany his passing or will he fall back in line with his brothers, becoming numb to all human emotions once more?_

**Chapter 1**

It was named The Virtuous Time. A time where great prosperity spread through all lands of the glorious Mamot, in years to come all school children will learn of such a great time.

A time when there was peace and unnamed understandings amongst people of all races and places, a time when demons and angels coexisted without conflict, a time when humans were not purposely victimized by their more powerful counterparts, a time when the lesser races of Mamot were looked upon as equal to the demons, angels and humans. But good times, like all times, have the tendency to end.

It was on the castle on the hill - where the rich ones were, where the extravagant ones were, where the King and his Queen feasted on crumpets and grand punch - where it all came to an end. From far away, it appeared almost haunting, a befitting place for such an end to occur, with luminescent orange lights flickering inconsistently on the oyster castle walls while the extensive green vines of the unkempt gardens below shot up the walls like fire-shows. It was a lush frame and people envied all who lurked inside. But they did not know of the evils that would take place within those castle walls that night and that the lives of the rich ones, the extravagant ones and the King And his Queen would soon seem dwarf in comparison to theirs.

It was on the night of Uitare when it happened.

All of the Kingdom of Inim was in a celebration. For four days and four nights the Humans drank and ate for their dead ancestors, consuming two-fold what the normal consumption level should be. A common legend is that on the night of Uitare, you are to eat for two or three or twenty, for all of your ancestors will join in the festivities consuming the drinks and food along with you, celebrating their death day and celebrating oblivion.

The people dressed in colors so exuberant that it reflected the sun and, in legend, created a rainbow in Iad and Himmel alike, bringing peace to the angels and demons of their world. Skirts cut through the air and feet clacked on the dirt, creating steady dust clouds that people will blame on the bourbon. As the people danced and sang jolly song , people in gray and brown clothing came from their shops and homes, cradling dusty bottles of wine and chickens as big as horses.

Cheers erupted and brought smiles to the faces of the men and women of Inim. Taking their respective bottles and glasses, the people went on with their festivities not once bothering to break their pleasant illusions of safety and solitude to notice the group of black-eyed people who walked steadily through the town of Kent, none drinking or eating, only watching, watching with a steady air, the castle at the top of the hill.

It was common on the night of Uitare that originally illogical people became even more irrational when alcohol is added to the mix. And like every other human in Inim, these people took it upon themselves to travel all the way to the castle on the hill to have the King decide who the less ridiculous one truly was.

"It was- it was my horse," a burly man in overalls barked. His body still reeked of alcohol and pig excrement, but his voice and movements were as sharp as a knight's, and all in attendance were inclined to believe him rather than the women who stood on the opposite end of the Great Hall.

The King's eyebrow twitched.

A woman with oily summer hair and red streaked eyes stomped her feet hard as she bunched up skirts to her waist. "He's a lie," She screeched. Her missing canines became even more evident when she yelled, most of the people in attendance grimaced when she spoke, her horrible dialect annoying and shocking them.

Another twitch.

The woman's one stunning quality, her sky blue eyes, quickly darted to the man sitting on the high throne at the very end of the hall. "You know I'm right, King!"

John Winchester was always a patient man. You had to be when you are the king. The constant petty fights that his advisers often brought to the round table would wear on the patience of any sane man in Inim and probably the most peaceful of angels in Himmel.

Not John. No, John carried that unyielding burden on his shoulders because he was known for his patience, all the Winchesters were known for their patience. His ancestors bore witness to the greatest fights of Iad and Himmel and waited patiently for the fighting to pierce the lands of Inim and all along rallied the troops and bridged defenses. And when the fighting was over, it was John Winchester's ancestors who acted as mediator for the irrational demon's lord Gurkhan and the leader of the angels, Michael.

Yes, the Winchester's patience was well known amongst people in all of Mamot. But, that didn't mean his wife was going to follow suit.

Mary Winchester was a firecracker if John had ever seen one. Always on the very brink of her "last nerve", Mary had no qualms knocking heads together at times like this. Ever since these two first came into the hall, every time John glanced at his wife he could see her nostrils slowly flaring or her eyes burning in unrestrained annoyance. As time went on her lips became painfully thin and the worry lines in her forehead deepened.

By the time the woman turned to the King (finally) asking his advice, something in Mary snapped.

"Listen woman. The horse does not belong to you, I don't care how much scotch you've had this evening, if you plan to spend the rest of your night enjoying the festivities of Uitare, I would suggest you return it to him immediately! For Jehovah's sake, you would think on a holy night like this one you stupid people would have the type of common decency that normal people have to leave the King, you're hardworking King, to himself so he can enjoy his night just as well as you are enjoying yours."

John was not surprised by his wife's behavior. She went on tirades like this all the time, in fact, that one was nothing compared to some of the other rants she embarked on.

The reactions of the people in the room were split. The vast majority of John's advisers displayed discomfort and, for some, outright disgust and rage at the behavior of the Queen while some were trying their damnedest to stop the laughter from escaping. 

John gave his wife a weary look and she, in response, gave him an expectant one. He could barely blame her for her irritation; they were interrupted in the middle of their previous and very strenuous "activities" just to race to the great hall after their guard insisted that there were two people ready to kill each other there… over a horse. Knowing that this was international public drunkenness day for his people, he thought that the feud would be something easily tied over simply with a few calming words. Unfortunately, this particular fight started weeks ago when the man accidentally killed a pig that belonged to the woman and the woman, for revenge, stole the man's horse claiming that it was hers. After weeks of arguing, the man put a gun to the woman's head and a group of monks intervened and sent them here.

"I beg your pardon," the woman snapped.

"I beg **your** pardon!" John watched as Mary's foot elevated from the ground and threatened to stomp unceremoniously hard on the marble floor and quickly tapped his wife's shoulders to stop her.

She knocked his hand away and looked at him with venom in her drunk red eyes. "John, dismiss these two back to their homes. This is ridiculous."

There were a couple of awkward coughs and disapproving sighs from the advisers at Mary's disrespectful treatment to her king. John's jaw stiffened in mild annoyance at his advisers, who were all too individually self-righteous, and his wife, who only served to embarrass him at this point. Yes, John was a patient man but there was only so much he could take.

If he was going to put a stop to this twitch, John knew what he had to do.

He waved Mary down to ear level and placed his hand next to his mouth. Mary stared blankly at him and without leaning down rolled her eyes and removed herself from her throne.

"If you will all excuse me, I think I would rather spend tonight with my children." She turned on her heels sharply and began to walk out of the room.

But, a thought struck her and she turned swiftly back to the two disputants and pointed her finger. "Shame on the both of you for your juvenile treatment of this situation; you, man, should have offered her one of your pigs in exchange for the one you so foolishly killed without a second thought. And you, woman, should have never went as far as to steal a man's horse for a pig. It's a pig, woman!"

The woman with the summer hair pouted and placed her hand over her heart. "But, that pig was my best friend. Her name was Caroline and she was everything to me!"

Mary looked taken aback, but quickly composed herself. "I'm sorry for your loss." She glanced at her husband, now angry again, and wrinkled her nose at him. "Good night."

After that, Mary was gone and John was able to relax again. He knew she was angry with him, but he had work to do and she was a BIG distraction. He would apologize later.

"Continue."

Mary could have brained him for how he behaved. To shoo her away from the great hall in such a way, she was the Queen just as well as he was King. So what if the advisers thought of her as the weaker one in the relationship who had no right to speak out of turn and address John as anything other than Your Highness. She hadn't called him anything but John since she was still a servant girl in his mother's quarters.

John assured her when they first got married that she would not have to deal with the judgment of the advisors. And here he was shooing her away when their judgment became too much for him.

She loved John, she really did. But, sometimes she wondered why she ever married someone with so many complications.

Her marriage to him was nothing compared to her parents'. Though they were busy, they always found time for each other as well as their children. She and John did not have that, because of his status as King of all of Inim he had no time for romance, the fact that they had even fallen in love was fueled by the fact that they were childhood friends from way back when John was only a prince with no true responsibilities. And Mary did not have time to try to steal him away from his people because she had her own responsibilities to worry about: her sons Dean and Samuel Winchester.

A smile slowly formed on Mary's face. Dean and Samuel, they were her heart; more than anything she wanted to spend tonight with the two of them, even if John didn't.

"Mommy!"

To her surprise and delight, Mary found her arms full of bouncy four-year-old child. He hung on her neck for support. She could never put into words how much she truly loved her son, who was always an excitable bundle of energy even when it was way past his bedtime. He seemed to know it too, because he was fully decked out in his polka dot button-up nightgown and cotton pants.

While ruffling his already messy hair, Mary asked, "What are you doing up this time of night, Dean?"

Dean shrugged, before smiling with a mischievous glint in his green eyes. Reaching to the top of his mother's head, he ruffled her hair in an imitation of how she did his and then he wrapped his arms back around her neck. "What are you doing up this time of night, mommy?"

Mary threw her head back and laughed openly. She knew if her husband's advisers were around to see that, they would have a thing or two say about it "Been learning from your father lately, have you now?"

Dean nodded.

Mary peered in the direction that Dean initially came from and frowned. "Where's London?"

London was a part of the royal guard; because of his capable fighting skills and nearly perfect detection skills John immediately made him the personal guard of their son Dean. Though the man seemed angry at first, he warmed up to the idea and acts almost as a second father to her son.

"I ditched him."

"Why?"

Dean pouted stubbornly. "He was getting on my nerves and he tried to put me to bed."

Mary shook her head and put Dean down on the floor. "He is going to be so mad at you."

As soon as Dean's feet touched the floor he reached for his mother's hand and held onto it tightly. "Can I sleep with Sammy tonight?"

"Why not sleep in your own bed tonight, Samuel needs his rest." Mary reasoned.

"But, I'm not going to play with him. I just want to see him; I haven't seen Sammy all day. I miss my brother."

"You played together just this morning, remember?"

"Yes, I remember; but, that was such a long time ago," Dean exclaimed. "Babies grow fast, you know; from this morning 'til now, Sammy might have grown to be my size, maybe even bigger."

Mary smiled with a roll of her eyes. The way that Dean treated Sam was similar to the way a child would treat a brand new toy. They always wanted to play with it, did not like others to touch it and annoyed the hell out of their parents if they did not get it. John did not want to indulge such behavior in his children, saying that it was unhealthy for Dean to have such a preoccupation on the presence of his brother. Always claiming that Dean was going to be King someday and hobbies at his age should involve playing war, not playing dolls with his younger brother. Mary just ignored all of the Macho Kingly assertions that spewed from John's mouth on a regular basis. She thought Dean's love for Sam was cute.

"Okay, you can sit in _if _Sam is awake while I read him a story. But after that, it's back to your room for the night."

Dean's ever-present pout only dropped closer to the floor, but he nodded grudgingly.

They made it to Sam's room a couple of minutes later and after nodding to the twin guards guarded the door – Diamond and Sapphire, both sweet girls- the two went in.

Sam lay in the middle of a high crib with steel bars. Unlike any baby room that Mary saw when she was a child, this room was made for a little soldier. She and John made a deal at the beginning of their marriage that they would design the baby's room based on the sex: if it was a girl, Mary designed her room and if it was a boy, John designed his room. Unfortunately, Mary ended up with two boys instead of at least one little princess.

"Sammy!" Dean piped when he saw that Sam was awake. Rushing over to his crib, Dean wrapped his slender fingers around the bars to peer into Sam's crib with a dreamy smile on his face. Sam, noticing Dean before his own mother, smiled a very big honest smile and reached his chubby arms out toward the boy.

Mary reached into the crib and pulled her son out. Sam's smile dropped instantly and he scowled at his mother while his eyes searched for his big brother; then, in the greediest of manners, Sam sucked in his cheeks and popped them open with a loud smack. He was always hungry.

Releasing an irritated sigh, Mary let Sam continue to stare at his brother, which completely took his mind off of his hunger. She handed Sam over to Dean with shaky and uncertain hands, and was happy to see Dean sit down in the rocking chair while talking and wiggling his fingers in front of Sam's face.

Mary retrieved a book from Sam's small bookshelf. It was one that was simple and quick, she read Sam this book many times but she doubted he remembered what she did and did not read him over the past six months. The Book was entitled "The First Sprite".

Sitting down on the floor, Mary leaned her back on the side of the rocking chair. Dean stopped rocking it and crossed his legs onto the chair, balancing Sam mostly in his lap and freeing up one of his hands to play with a strand of his mother's blond hair. Mary sent him a smile and her insides warmed when Dean sent her one right back and, trying to imitate his hero, Sam did the same thing.

What room did she have to complain? This _was_ the perfect life, not only was she blessed with two beautiful children who loved her as much as she loved them, she had a husband who loved her, servants who respected her and the life that no other servant girl breaking her back cleaning barroom windows would ever bother dreaming of. She was truly blessed.

Mary opened the book slowly, "Once upon a time-"

A sudden rush of air hit Mary on the side of her face. Thinking that it was only guards warning her that her husband was on another rampage or the wet nurse asking if it was Sam's feeding time, Mary waved a dismissive hand toward the door.

"Can't you see I'm busy? Come back shortly."

"Oh we won't take up too much of your time." A smooth feminine voice assured. "We just want your children."

Mary's head snapped quickly to the door and there stood two people. Blinded by the shadows that fell from the doorway, Mary could not tell who they were or if they were smiling or leering at her. All she could see was their scandalous red robes that held onyx-embroidered insignias on both sides that shined in the smallest ray of light. The insignias were in the shape of hands with all of the fingers broken and bending at different angles, in the middle of the hand-type formations sat the image of one side of an upside down angel wing. The insignia was so brutal in shape and definition that Mary was almost sure that if she'd seen it before she would remember such a thing; if not the insignia itself she would remember the shivers that raked her body as she stared at the aforementioned symbols. They glided into the room gracefully, as if taking no steps at all, and Mary's breath caught at what she saw.

Black eyes.

Dean knew that his mommy was afraid. He looked like that sometimes too, especially when he tricked himself into being trapped on the highest branch of the tallest tree in the castle walls.

He instinctively held Sammy closer and uncurled his legs. A sinking feeling barreled into Dean's stomach like one of his dad's play-punches (the one's that went too far), causing him to release a gasp.

The adults in the red robes both looked at them and Dean shivered when the woman in front smirked and reached toward them. Dean subconsciously held Sammy even closer to his chest; what was he going to do? He looked at his mother for guidance, but her eyes were glued to the red robed people in front of them.

Dean got down from the rocking chair and toddled closer to his mother, when he was pressed onto her side he looked at her expectantly and gripped her hand in his.

"Mommy…" He trailed off and looked down at Sam, as if he was going to give him all of the answers. As to whom those people were, why his mother was so upset and how this night was going to end.

"Ah, here they are, already gift wrapped and ready," the female said.

"What do you want _demon_?" Mary spat.

The woman wrapped her arms across her chest and looked pointedly at the two boys again. "I want them," she stated.

Mary shielded her son's from their view with her arm. "What do you want with them?"

Her gaze shifted to the ceiling as if she was thinking and then, unwrapping her arms, the woman shrugged. "I don't think that's any of your business."

"These are my boys-"

The women interrupted with a raise of the hand. "Those boys are no longer your concern, they belong to our lord Lucifer now."

Dean watched his mother's face working before she pulled him by the shoulder so that he was farther away from her. Dean turned what he hoped looked like pleading eyes to his mother and tried to move closer to her again; but her firm grip on his shoulder kept him back.

"Dean, listen to me." Mary looked at Dean from the corner of her eye and squeezed his shoulder in a comforting manner. And unbeknown to Dean, that would be the last loving moment that he and his mother would share. "I want you to go to your father, run really fast. You like to run right?" Dean nodded quickly. "Don't stop until you're with your father and you and Sam are safe."

Dean nodded again.

The two at the door were smirking, but Dean could only pass a quick glance at them before he was looking at his mother again with tears threatening to spill. "Mommy…"

"Go Dean, go now!"

With those words said, Mary was closing in on the demons with the hardcover book and Sammy's bottle in hand. Dean watched her movements carefully, knowing that he could not leave with the two people with black eyes still at the door. He doubted they would let him pass without trouble.

Mary chucked the hard-edged book at the man who stood a couple of inches behind the woman, causing him to cry out in momentary pain and stumble back while squirting the remains of the bottle in the dark eyes of the women, who rubbed ferociously at her eyes and screamed out curses that Dean never heard before.

Dean, seeing his opening, dashed out of the room with Sammy pressed tight against his chest. When Dean exited the room, the first thing he saw was the dead bodies of the twin guards. No longer the imposing forces that they were only three minutes ago, the women looked almost small in their slung back postures. The sharp smell of cooper threw Dean through a loop, making him feel like he'd just tasted it himself; he choked on the air around him and with a gentle cough he kept on moving.

If he wanted to get to his father he could not stop to help those two; Sammy was his first priority. Dean ran through the halls, clumsily shuffling on the marble floor, and pursed his lips when Sam started whining and shaking in his arms.

"I'm sorry Sammy; I'll protect you, don't cry, please don't cry," Dean begged.

Sammy responded to Dean's voice only slightly, though he stopped his whining he did not stop shaking and twitching in his grasp. Dean saw that as a good enough improvement and took his eyes off of his brother and back onto the where he was going.

A piercing scream tore through the halls and Dean acknowledged with a sinking heart that he recognized that voice.

"Mommy…" Dean whimpered.

He wanted to go back. He had to go back. His mom…

But, Sammy was here too. Dean fought the new tears that stung his eyelids and proceeded down the halls, the great halls hopefully coming up soon. The halls seemed so endless tonight; usually they never seemed long enough for Dean to truly play in them to the extent that he wanted to. But, tonight was different. Tonight was an ending. And no one likes a bad ending, not even the halls, so they don't end.

More screams, this time from different people, ripped through the halls. Almost on cue, gun shots rang out and the screams only got louder and more animal-like. But so far, no one penetrated the halls to the main room, where Dean was headed. It was odd that there was no one around; usually they had guards attending to every door with their flashy guns held high and their faces straight and precise.

He didn't know where his father was, but his instincts told him great hall and he always listened to his instincts, even though they usually got him in trouble.

"Please, please, please… no one come in here."

As if reading his thoughts, a man fell into the halls from the doorway, landing on his butt with a deep grunt. Immediately recognizing him as London, his bodyguard, Dean felt the sinking weight in his gut lift and a sigh of relief escaped his lips. London was perfect; if anyone could get them to his dad then it was him.

Dean smiled and began to run toward the man when London's head twirled around toward him. He looked shocked at first but, always the composed one; London gave him a sidelong glance that stopped Dean dead in his tracks. It was one of the signs that they used to practice every week- it meant 'Stay'. London waved his hand, another sign, meaning 'Hide'.

Without hesitation, Dean followed his orders and hides in the doorway the room closest to him. He leaned back on the wall of the doorway and peeked past it to see what London was doing.

And from the door that London had just fallen from a very tall man stalked towards him with a kitchen knife in his hands. Dean inhaled sharply when he saw the blood leaking from the ends of it and held Sammy much closer; He knew he was close to losing it; he didn't know what he was going to do. The one thing he did know was that he had only one job tonight: _Protect Sammy, protect Sammy, protect Sammy. _

London stared at the man who slowly approached him, not making even the slightest move to defend himself. And then, with one clean swipe of his knife, the tall man ended London's life. Dean's mouth gaped open like a fish, but he sucked in his lips and shut his eyes tight to prevent any sound from escaping. He had to be strong. He had to be brave. For Sammy and for Daddy; for his family he needed to get Sammy out of there.

The man looked in Dean's direction and Dean pressed himself tightly against the wall and slung Sam over his shoulder so that he would not protrude too much. A fresh bead of sweat formed on Dean's temple as the steps of the murderer got louder and louder. Dean tried to blend with the wall, but there was not much he could do. The man was getting closer.

"Please," Dean silently begged god.

When the man made it to the doorway Dean held his breath and did not look at him, much preferring not the see the man who murdered his best friend and who could possibly be the murderer of his brother. His entire body shook as the man took his final steps past Dean's threshold. _He won't see, He wouldn't dare see us, He can't see us_.

When the man's footsteps began to get farther away Dean opened his eyes and looked to right, only to see it empty. The man hadn't seen him. They were safe… for now. Dean knew that he could not go the way that he wanted to; getting to the Great Hall would require him going down the same hall that London was killed in. Now if that did not creep him out enough, there was also a chance that the same group of people who killed London and attacked his mother were still down there. Who knows, they may have already gotten his Daddy.

Dean looked to his left and, without further assessing the situation, bolted through the door.

The cooper smell attacked his nose as soon as he entered the room. It was previously a guest room, Dean's favorite. He used to play with Sammy in there a lot and before Sammy was born, he spent hours jumping on the bed while London read books in the chair in the corner. The same chair that his favorite maid Henrietta is currently sitting in with her decapitated arm on her lap and her throat slit to the very root.

Around the room were the scattered remains of various guards, maids and servants. None of them looked even remotely alive; all of them were ravaged through, laying in various pools of other people's blood, bodily fluids mixing and merging with one another making the whole sight look even more disgusting.

He tore his eyes away from the sight in front of him and scanned the room for any formidable exits that may lead him to his escape. There was exactly one window, but the room was on the second floor. He could not risk it though; this was his only chance at escape.

Dean closed the door quietly behind himself and with Sammy close to him he stepped over the battered bodies one by one until he reached the window. He balanced Sammy on his shoulder and opened the window with one hand. A bristling breeze of ice-cold air hit his face and Sammy's side, causing him to break out into steady wails.

_No, no, no_. The cries that Sam emitted only made Dean lose more and more hope; he couldn't do this. He couldn't get Sammy out. He didn't know what to do. Dean felt himself tear up again but this time he didn't fight it. With tears running down his face, Dean sat Sam down on the bed with white sheets that were stained red, between the body of a guard and a maid.

As soon as Sam was situated on the bed, Dean's knees gave out and he was on the edge of the bed crying his eyes out. He didn't know what to do, what could he do? His parents were both dead, London was dead. He was alone…

Sammy's wails broke his stupor; Dean looked at his brother through tear-stained eyes and smiled brokenly. No he wasn't alone, he still had Sammy and he was going to get him out if it was the last thing he did.

Dean, with shaking hands, unbuttoned his polka-dot shirt and took it off, leaving him shirtless in the cold room. But he barely cared; he needed to make Sammy warmer. In the mad rush to get out of the room, Dean hadn't taken any of Sammy's blankets or clothes and he didn't notice at the time that Sammy was only wearing a small shirt and a diaper.

Dean wrapped the shirt he was wearing around Sammy's body and to his relief Sammy stopped crying and snuggled into the cotton fabric. Dean used both of his hands to wipe the stray tears from his cheeks and then huffed out a laugh. _He was going to save Sammy no matter what happened and if his parents were dead, he was going to take care of him himself_. Nodding to himself, Dean stood up and gathered Sammy into his arms.

He walked to the window again and stuck his head out. There weren't many people around, not that he expected there to be. The guards did not circle the castle very much, they only guarded entrances and the people who were killing everybody were not around either.

The coast was clear.

Dean looked down the wall and saw the castle vines. His mom always told him not to play on the vines no matter how many times he begged her; she said they weren't sturdy and he might fall and break his neck. He wanted to believe her, he really did. But what other choice did he have?

Dean slung Sammy over his shoulder again, gripping him tightly. He placed an idle kiss on Sammy's elbow and then hopped on the window ledge, keeping one arm firmly gripped on the stone ledge and the other holding his brother Dean moved up slowly until his feet were out swinging to the point where he could curl them back.

He moved his feet around until he could find a vine that he could hook his foot into. When he found one, he used it as leverage to find one for his other foot and then with the use of one of his hands he balanced himself on the vines. Dean knew he was shaking or at least starting to, but he couldn't be nervous right now. He needed to be strong.

With a sharp twist of his torso Dean was facing the wall and holding tightly onto the ledge in front of him. Dean felt a sick thrill at actually doing this; he always wanted to climb on the vines and even though it was dangerous Dean knew that looking at it like a game would make it easier. And maybe he wouldn't be as nervous.

Dean closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He wasn't running for his life, he wasn't trying to save Sammy, his parents were alive, he was playing a game, he was defying his mother and he was having fun. _Sunny Afternoon, London on the ground underneath the vines yelling at him, Sammy lying on the bed in the arms of Henrietta cheering him on with his tiny smile_.

"I can do this."

Dean exhaled and started to slowly climb down the vines all while balancing his baby brother on his shoulder. One step at a time Dean shuffled down the vines, one step at a time Dean shuffled away from the opened window that still had curtains blowing inward, one step at a time Dean shuffled away from the dead bodies that now littered the castle.

Dean released a startled gasp when one of his feet slipped on a weak vine, but he caught himself with his only free hand and locked his foot in the vine. A shiver ran down his spine and he pressed himself to the wall before slowly climbing down the vines again.

"I can do this," Dean chanted.

Without looking at down, Dean knew that he was running out of vine, even though they grew sideways and from the ground, the gardeners usually cut them at a certain point. It was pretty close to the ground, but it was high enough so that Dean may slip and fall if he lands on his feet.

Dean climbed down a little further and when his feet ran out of vine he used the wall to balance his feet while keeping his free hand clasped on the vine. _If I can just make it to the last vine_, Dean looked down and bit his bottom lip; he didn't have much more to go.

A scream of fear ripped through Dean when one of his feet slipped, followed by his other one. In a mad rush to save himself and Sammy, Dean fisted the vine and held on tightly leaving him hanging a couple of feet from the ground. Dean bit his lip again, his arm throbbing from the weight of Sammy and himself. Dean tightened his hold on Sam and looked down.

"I can do it."

Dean closed his eyes and let go of the vine, hoping that the shock of him falling won't be too much for Sam to handle.

Dean's landing was not graceful. As soon as his feet hit the ground, Dean lurched forward and gasped out loud when a shock of pain shot through the bottom of his feet and continued to bombard through his legs until it reached his hips. Dean coughed and fell to his knees with his hand clasped onto his throbbing hip. Now it all made sense, his mother did not want him to get hurt.

After sitting in the same spot for over a minute, Dean decided that the throb in his legs and hip was slowing down enough for him to leave. He would have liked nothing more than to stay there with Sammy until his legs felt better. But it wasn't safe. They needed to hide.

Dean lifted one of his legs and noted that the pain was not too bad. Smiling at Sammy, Dean lifted his other one and yelped when another shock of pain ran through it. It hurt terribly; he didn't know what to do with it. He couldn't run on this leg.

His brother began to whimper and moan; And Dean realized with utter certainty that he had to get Sammy somewhere safe. He could barely form a rational thought when he had to apply more pressure to that leg of his; the pain was unbearable. But he pressed on, using his opposite leg to limp away

"Come on Sammy, let's go hide."

John Winchester removed his gun from his waist sheath and barreled down from his throne. Aiming it at the head of the demon that'd just killed his one of his advisors, he shot the demon with head-on accuracy. Killing it.

Screams and gunshots filled the air from all over the castle, including the great hall. But only three things were on John's mind: Dean, Sam and Mary. His kids and his wife were out there, not in here with him. God knows how long those demons have been snaking around this castle; if they got to his kids… they were so young…

John's heart hammered against his chest as he raced through the swarms of people and demons that flooded the great hall. Not really able to tell the difference without looking closer, John opted to just push past everyone instead of shooting people randomly.

"The hell," John shrieked when he was yanked back by something jumping on his back. He stumbled backwards and looked behind him to see a man with black eyes glaring at him. As soon as the man's hands wrapped around his throat, John turned his gun to the man's head and shot. With an animalistic shriek, the demon fell from John's shoulders to the ground.

Without making sure that it was dead, John continued on. His family was first. _They're fine, they're fine, please god their fine. _

Two more demons approached John from the side catching him off guard. He jumped back slightly, but gained his composure enough to shoot one demon in the upper arm. Unfortunately, the other jumped at John, tackling him to the ground and trying to wrestle the gun from his fingers. John bit back a scream when the demon's nails tore at his pale skin and the other pulled on his legs to distract him.

The demons continued to tear and rip at John's skin on his wrists and legs and John realized with a bout of grief that if the demons got to his wife and children they must have killed them in this way too. Jerking in their grips, John's hand loosened on his gun and the demon that was clawing at his arm knocked it away. He reached for it blindly as harsh pants blew past his lips; his gun was kicked and shuffled along by the all of the frantic people in his hall.

The dainty ankles of women and the clacking shoes of men running back and forth, while the ones in the red robes flung themselves in the air rather than running on foot. John grimaced.

When the demon's fist wrapped around his throat, John sputtered and jerked in his grasp. He knew what was happening, and like hell he was going to die like this. He tried to pry the demon's hand off of him, but demons have always had a strength advantage over humans, so all he could do was kick his free foot and try to get himself loose.

Without warning, the head of the demon holding his throat exploded and the one holding his foot followed closely afterwards. John closed his eyes when the blood sprinkled on his face and on his already dry lips. When the demon's grip on his neck loosened and he fell limp on John's chest John pushed him away and stood.

"Are you alright, your majesty?" A royal guard, Lex he called himself, ran toward his king with his now bloodied gun firmly in his grip.

Another guard ran toward him, asking the same question, his gun was bloodied as well and limp in his grasp but he seemed as ready to protect his king as the other. John realized with a begrudging nod, that he needed their help if he wanted to save his family.

"Come on!"

John took off running with the guards close behind him.

When he made it out of the Great Hall and into the hallways of the castle John saw that the chaos was no less profound there. But, there was one difference, instead of the vermin stealthily attacking his staff and friends; they seemed to be retreating; only attacking if someone got in their way.

John _really _wanted to chase them down and shoot them until their bodies were no more than mush. But, he had more important things to attend to.

Turning back toward his guards he cocked his head toward the stairs. "You have to help me find my family."

The two following him, and the six others who at some point fell in, nod at him with no hesitation. John sneers and continues running toward the stairs, the demons, at this point were almost all out and John and his guards promptly mowed down the ones that remained.

The stairs were less hectic, practically empty not including the litter of dead bodies and some of the grieving friends and families of said bodies.

But, John did not have time for that right now.

As soon as they made it to the top of stairs, the powerful smell of charcoal, sulfur and burning beef hit him immediately. Fire. There was a fire. And… someone was burned. Turning slowly, and seemingly painfully, back toward his guards -who seem to build up at every step he takes- and saw that he was not smelling things. They were looking at one another with deep frowns and scrunched up noses.

A group of guards ran to the king. They were bleeding from various places on their bodies, but they were whole and alive and each regarded him with regretful eyes.

At that moment John knew… he knew…

"What happened?"

The men all looked at each other before looking back at John, not one saying a word.

"Well," John snapped. "What the hell happened?"

Still no answer was forthcoming.

John felt his temper rising and he wanted so badly to smash all of their faces in until they told him the truth; even if he did not want to hear it. "Where's my wife? Where are my children?"

One of the men, the one in the front, was tearing up while the others simply balled up their fists and set their jaws. They were protecting him, John knew it, but he did not want to be protected now. His kingdom was attacked on the night of the Uitare, one of the holiest nights in all of Inim, and he unknowingly sat on his throne with his hands clasped in his lap listening to two stupid people try to solve their own stupid problem when it started. No, he did not need to be protected.

"As your king, I command you to tell me this instant or I will have you all hanged!" John knew his voice broke, but he didn't care. The threat was the same and it had the same effect because the guards all looked at John with fearful eyes and the one with the tears in his eyes stepped towards John.

"Your highness, we haven't been able to find your sons-"

John interrupted. "Neither of them."

The man shook his head. "No, they're both gone," He stated. He paused for all of five seconds, but he seemed to collect himself in that time period and he was back on track. "But, your highness-" He cleared his throat. "Your wife…"

He did not say anything more and John did not need him to. He understood.

"Take me to her."

The man nodded and turned his back to bring John to his wife. The other's fell in with the ones behind him, but John barely paid attention to them. His wife was all he could think of at that moment.

John felt a tremble run through him when he saw that the room they were nearing was his baby's nursery. As they got closer, the smell of charcoal and sulfur got stronger, but new smells arouse too. Sweet but musky aromas wafted through the halls, and the smell of beef became more pronounced, but it was also mixed in with the terrible scent of burning iron. John knew what he would find in that room, but he did not stop moving.

When they stepped into the doorway, John suppressed a shocked sob. His wife was not his wife. The top layer of her skin was burned off, leaving only blood and white skin that were clumped into folded lumps. Her hair was burned off of her head, only patches of black hair remaining there and her eyes were rolled into the back of her head.

A litter of her organs hung out of her stomach and were spread on the floor, making it slippery with blood.

John approached her slowly. His hand outstretched and tears already flowing from his hazel eyes, he sat on his knees beside her shoulder and looked deep into her white eyes.

It seemed so unreal. Less than an hour ago, she was the crabby woman who yelled at his subjects like they were her own children. Less than a day ago they were sharing their bed, "trying for a girl," she said. Less than a month ago they were celebrating Dean's birthday, cuddling on Sam's rocking chair as Dean ate cake and Sam drank milk. Less than a year ago they were welcoming their second child into their lives. And now…

She was his wife, the women who he was supposed to spend the rest of his life with. He didn't understand how she could be the one lying on her son's floor. _Her, her, her._

It could have been anyone else but her. It should have been someone else.

But it was _her. _

John tore his eyes away from his wife's body and looked at the men standing at the doorway.

He opened his mouth to speak but briefly had no voice. And for once, he did not have his strong dominating wife there to fill in for him simply because she always knew what her husband wanted to say.

"Continue the search for my children. Do not stop until they are found," He ordered with authority.

They nodded and half scurried off while the other half stood where they were, guarding the door.

John's eyes fell back to his wife and instead of extreme sadness taking over, John felt a crippling sense of anger and vengefulness overshadow his grief. For all of his life, Inim and Iad coexisted with tranquility and understanding. But no more! Those demons would pay for this. Not only for the life of his wife, but for his missing children and all of his subjects who have lost their lives on this night.

But John could not do it alone.

Himmel's leaders, the Five Brothers of Engels, the most powerful beings in the entire world, five angels who had as much of a stake in this demon uprising as John did; they owed him a favor and it was about time for John to cash in: for his wife, for his son's and for his people.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Ice of Oblivion Chapter 2/24  
Fandom/Genre: SPN AU Romance, Drama, Action  
Pairing (s): Dean/Castiel  
Rating: T  
Word Count: ~82,000  
Warnings: Underage, Mild Sexual Situation, Violence

**Chapter 2**

John stared at the five angels standing in the middle of his Great Hall with unrestrained amazement. Though they had formed many alliances with each other, before and during John's reigns as King, John had never seen them in person. The sight was spectacular.

To the untrained eye, the five brothers seemed no different than any human in Inim. Some old some young, some darker and some lighter, some with blue eyes, some green, some brown. All dressed as humans do; all stood as humans do, all walked as humans do and all spoke as humans do.

But in all of that, their eyes, their stance, their speech, John could see their years, their wisdom and most of all their power.

The oldest, most powerful and the unofficial leader of the group stood in the very middle, his name was Michael.

To the immediate left of him stood Zachariah, powerful in his own right and known for his flawless manipulation of others, he was an air of confidence.

To Michael's right, there was Uriel, he was known more or less for his brute power and merciless spirit, rather than choosing to spare enemies he has been known to blast them to oblivion with one nod of his head.

Beside Uriel was Gabriel or better known as the trickster, in Inim and Himmel alike. Except for relying on strength and fortitude like his siblings, Gabriel used his extreme intelligence, manipulation and illusionary abilities to trick foes into submission; hell he even messed with his own brothers.

And, last but certainly not least was Castiel, who stood beside Zachariah. Castiel was not as powerful as his brothers, though his powers dwarfed that of every other angel who was not his sibling, but Castiel had speed and unlike his brothers he had the power of observation on his side, knowing much more about the world around him than the other four.

John sunk back in his chair, but did not recoil at the sight of these domineering figures. This was not the time for insecurities, his wife was in an overfilled infirmary along with every other dead body found throughout the palace and his son's… well, they were still missing.

"John Winchester," Michael stated in greeting.

John bowed his head, tired eyes scanning the five people in his room. "Thank you for getting here so quickly." They truly had gotten there quick; John sent a messenger at midnight and here it was only six hours later and here they were.

The one of the far left, Castiel, stepped forward and with a blank face he said, "We're sorry to hear about your wife."

John flinched at the mention of his wife, though he still could not get the image of her still simmering red body out of his head and the smell of sulfur clung to his nose like a vice, the mere mention of his wife's unfortunate fate still riled his insides.

When he did not answer, Castiel moved back in line. John eyed the blank faced one critically; he heard a lot about Castiel, most people seemed to favor him above the other four. They say his concentration is concrete and he actually seems like he cares for humans; but if anyone told John that today he would beg to differ. The angel seemed distracted today, not as concentrated, as he was famous for.

"Look, let's cut to the chase here. I need your help."

Michael nodded and with a self-deprecating smile, he said, "We need your help too."

John was surprised to say the least. These five, in John's mind, were supreme beings, equal to Gods in Inim ideology; those five needing help was like a giant needing a ladder: improbable. John straightened up in his chair, suddenly curious and interested.

"My help…?"

Michael walked closer to John, moving out of the line, and folded his arms over his chest. "Unfortunately yes, it seems we will have to remain in your debt for a while longer."

"Whatever you need, as long as you help me get vengeance on the demon's who killed my people."

Uriel clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Vengeance… Do you really think we're going to help you with that attitude?"

A smirk grew on John's face. "No," He said. "But, if I you don't then I won't help you either."

"Touché," Uriel replied, a smirk now his face as well.

"Do you remember the angel that we had you build a hex for two years ago?" Michael asked.

John remembered it like yesterday. He's received an urgent message from Michael; he was practically offering up all of Himmel to John if he built a hex for him; one that could hold an angel for at least a couple of months. John, figuring that it was the least he could do for these powerful entities, worked tirelessly for days on the hex, along with his close friend and advisor Bobby and his high priestess Missouri. Mary was pissed, but John barely paid attention to her and in three days he built the hex and sent it off to the angels.

As for the angel who the hex was for, John only managed to squeeze a few details out of the angel who sent the message, details that included: Angry, deceitful, jealous and most importantly dangerous. He even managed to get a name.

"Lucifer?"

Michael nodded with sad eyes and his arms dropped to his side. "It seems he was not fully healed when we extracted him from your hex."

"What do you mean not fully healed," John snapped. "You told me you were going to kill him!"

None of the angels so much as flinched at John's harsh tones and Michael continued on. "I wanted Lucifer trapped; I never said anything about killing him. Although, sending him back to father probably would have been a better choice."

"Dear old Michael was convinced Lucifer would be fine after a couple months of rehabilitation," Zachariah mocked. "Not that I did not warn him that he was making a mistake; he just had _all_ the faith in the world in his dear old little brother-"

"He's your brother too, Zachariah," Michael replied, just as calm and collected as when he first walked in.

Zachariah exhaled a soft laugh and with a cocky smile he shrugged. "If it was up to me, none of this would have ever happened."

Though John was fading out for a while during the family feud, that last thing Zachariah said caught his attention. What did Lucifer, an angel, have to do with what a group of demons did?

"Are any of you going to tell me what the hell you're talking about?"

Michael turned away from his brother and back to John with an apologetic expression; dipping his head in pardons he clenched his hands together. "It started thousands of years ago when demons were spawned from the carcasses of millions of dead snakes and spiders. Our father called us to his temple immediately and warned us of a prophecy, one that was only confirmed with the rise of the mysterious and deadly creatures known as Dämons.

'_Through the mists of happiness and virtue, an angel will fall into the arms of Dämons and that affair will bring only darkness to all lands of Mamot. The End will come with the rise of two mortals; they will fight to the death and the victor will rule.'_"

Michael completed his tale with his face finally marred by emotion, one that exhibited only sadness. "We always thought that there was a possibility that it would be Lucifer who would fall. He was the _only_ angel who consistently stepped out of line and periodically questioned father and his rules," Michael said, regret present in his speech and mannerisms.

"Why didn't you do something before this, huh?" John was fuming inside; they knew what could happen! They all knew that Lucifer was going to do something like this and it could have been prevented a hell of a long time ago if they had just killed him. But they didn't and why didn't they?

Michael released that same self-deprecating laugh from before and shrugged. "I didn't want it to be my brother."

"_Highly _understandable, Big Bro," Gabriel said with sarcasm dripping from his voice.

John launched himself from his throne, almost forgetting that he was dealing with five of the most powerful creatures in the world, and stalked toward the five men with his fists clenched. He could see some of his guards standing at attention and moving in closer as well, John stopped then. If he did so much as threaten the men in front of him he would be disintegrated on the spot and his guards had no choice but to try to defend him, which would lead to more unnecessary deaths. He couldn't do it; he was not going to add to the very long list of grieving widows.

John moved back to his throne and stiffly sat down. After taking a couple of minutes to recollect himself, John continued talking with a clenched jaw, "Why me, huh? There are thousands of smaller provinces in Inim that they could have attacked, ones that would have shrunk back without countering like we did. Hell, why didn't they attack you? The war is supposed to be with Angels and Demons. What the hell do my people have to do with that?"

Michael was silent for a while with his jaw set and his frown deep. He stepped back into line, obviously struggling with what he wanted to say; at that point, John had the chance to watch those five. Castiel still seemed distracted and seemed way too shifty for an angel; Gabriel and Uriel looked like he was holding back a chuckle while Zachariah looked like he was about throttle Michael. Staring at them this time around, John noted with disgust and also mild amusement they did not seem as divine as John always thought they were; they seemed almost human with their squabbles and uncertainties.

"John," Michael said, snapping John out of his trance. "Lucifer sent them here for a reason."

"Which was?"

"In the prophecy it mentioned two beings who would fight to the death. We've had inklings that at least one of the warriors would be in the royal family for years now. It was only six months ago that we were sure that your son Dean was it; Lucifer must have found out too."

John choked and beat his fists on his chest. His child was going to fight Lucifer? The Winchester bloodline was too strong, it had been there for centuries; if Dean and Sam were killed than that whole legacy was destroyed. Why his children? Why them?

"Lucifer sent hordes of his demons here to kidnap them. I have no idea what he planned to do, but we figure he means to kill them."

John sat speechless on his throne with his fingers digging into the leather flesh of the arms. It was all too much. Everything was happening too fast. If Mary were here, she would know how to handle this. But John didn't. He didn't know what to do or how to fix this. He was losing everything. All John could do to prevent an absolute break down was get back into King Mode; if he acted like a detached ruler he could survive this.

"My son's are missing. They disappeared last night during the attack."

Michael nodded and looked backwards to the giant window that sat at the very end of the room. "They must have taken them last night. We have to get moving soon if we plan to catch up to them and return your children before one of them is killed," Michael stated. "But, of course, there is always the trouble of future protection for your sons. We cannot ensure their future safety for too long, especially not amongst humans. If we want them to survive to the final battle there are things we must do."

John nodded. "I'll do anything, make any alliance, and give up any amount of land just to get my sons back. Please bring them back. "

Michael smiled. It was a scary smile, one that did not seem completely full or welcoming. He knew that he was going to get his sons back and when they got back home, John was going to do anything to make sure that it was not his sons on the battlefield when the time came.

"Do you feel that?"

All eyes in the room snapped to Castiel, the shifty angel with the blue eyes and the ever-present scowl. Gabriel freed a long-suffering sigh and crossed his arm, glaring at Castiel.

"What _are_ you talking about, Castiel?"

"This light, it's so beautiful and warm. I've felt it since I set foot on this land, I can't take it anymore. I'm going find it." Even with the passion of the words, Castiel's voice was steady and bland almost as if he was offering false condolences again. Without excusing himself, Castiel rushed out of the room, finally looking concentrated on one thing and one thing only.

John's eyes followed the frazzled angel and with a shake of his head he dismissed the man. They were discussing getting his possibly dead sons back and all that angel was worried about was a light. John did, however, pass his behavior off as simply one of those angel quirks that he hears so much about.

"Just ignore him," Uriel insisted.

Michael looked like he was about to roll his eyes, but stopped himself and with an all-business tone went on with his plan on how to infiltrate the demon's territory and get the boys back.

Castiel had no idea what it could be; it was all-encompasing and beautiful, perfect. Castiel never felt such light before, when in the presence of his father he was almost crippled with the love and beauty of his glow. But this was different than anything he'd ever felt in Inim, especially not on a day like this one.

From the first moment that they got there, the gloomy atmosphere was evident and heartbreaking. All that Castiel felt when he walked into that place was distress, nothing light or beautiful to be found. And that saddened Castiel; every other time he set foot in this territory, it was always filled with generally happy people with warm lights of their own. After yesterday's tragedies, though, Castiel doubted Inim would be filled with that happiness again for a very long time.

It could have been the shadows of darkness that made this one light appear brighter than any other, but Castiel did not care. He would find it for no other reason than to find out what it was and to possibly study what made this thing so full of warmth in such a dark time. This would be interesting to make into a book; possibly to uplift the poor miserable people who have been forced to suffer at the hands of demons.

Castiel was not shocked when his search took him outside the castle and he was kind of relieved. He was stopped various times by the very suspicious and paranoid guards, but as soon as they realized who he was they let him go with gruff apologies.

Castiel continued to follow the light but instead of leaving castle walls it just took him deeper into the greenery and eventually into the royal gardens. Castiel felt satisfied. Of course this would be where the light came from; in the world-renown garden of the Winchesters. From its swaying treetops to its bountiful rose bushes, not to mention the fat red Hyacinths, this was the most beautiful place for miles. Castiel would have liked to leave it at that and agree that the beautiful warmth that's been nagging him came from this garden, the only thing that was not touched in the attack.

But he knew that it was more concentrated then that and the love was too strong to belong to a simple garden. Castiel felt it strongest in a small, obviously malformed rose bush. With a new air of confidence and excitement Castiel walked to the bush and upon closer inspection he saw that the warmth did not come from the bush itself, but from something encased inside of it.

He peered into the bushes and through the complicated vines and leaves, he made out a human hand that shook and twitched incessantly.

"Interesting…" Castiel murmured.

Moving closer to the bush, Castiel was able to make out, not only a hand but a body, a body that held something in its hands, cradling it like a baby.

Castiel smiled, pleased with himself for seeking this out. Here they were, the princes of Inim, hiding in a malformed rose bush seemingly unharmed and not in the hands of the Lucifer. In any normal circumstance, Castiel would have destroyed the rose bush and brought the boys back to their father within seconds.

But, harming the rose bush seemed barbaric. It, though not as fully grown or delicately groomed as the other bushes, seemed sacred in the eyes of Castiel. This bush shielded the fate of the world inside of its little yellow leaves and barely pink buds; somehow the demons that barreled through there did not so much as glance at it. Leaving the princes, Himmel's champion and his younger brother, completely unharmed.

And rose bush aside, Castiel would not even think of startling the boys in there; especially not the oldest, the one that wafted so much warmth and beauty. Castiel could feel inside of the very depths of his soul that both boys were special, but in vastly different ways and only one of them was special to Himmel and the angels. And that one was the future king of Imin, Dean Winchester.

When Castiel crept closer to the bush and peered in again he was almost surprised by the wide green eyes that stared at him with fear. He frowned and cocked his head to the side, not understanding how or why anyone who was not a demon would be afraid of him.

"Dean Winchester," Castiel said as he reached his hand into the bush and pushed it back to reveal the full form of the boy and infant who sat there in each other's embrace.

Dean moved back until his back was pressed against the wall and turned his face sharply away.

Castiel felt affronted, but he continued to press on, knowing that he had to get these two back to their father before his brothers launched an unnecessary attack on Iad, the place where the demons reside, trying to retrieve the boys who were in no danger.

"Dean, I'm here to help you," Castiel insisted.

Dean's only indication that he heard Castiel was his pulling his brother closer to him.

Castiel was beginning to get very frustrated with the young child, and was only able to stifle his attitude when he reminded himself that Dean was still four-year-old boy who was afraid and confused, not the warrior of God that he would one day become.

"I'm here to bring you back to your father."

That got Dean's attention. Without missing a beat, Dean's wide eyes were once again on Castiel, only this time there was no fear only hope.

"My father?"

Castiel nodded and stepped back, allowing Dean space to get out. "This isn't a trick Dean. He's been looking for you for hours."

Dean ambled out of the bush, his brother Samuel still close to his chest and the smallest glimmer of hope still burning strong in his eyes. Castiel frowned when he took in Dean's appearance. His hair was in disarray some of it sticking to his cheeks and neck while the rest stuck up in various different places; there were red lines underneath his youthful eyes either from crying or lack of sleep, Castiel figured it was probably both. He was shirtless and his chest was covered in lines of mud and dirt, marring his pale skin. His knuckles and fingers were red and covered in various small cuts as was his face. The baby, Samuel, on the other hand appeared unscratched and completely unfazed by the events of the previous day. He was sleeping soundly.

"Dad's alive?"

Castiel would have flinched had his vessel been designed like a human's, he nodded quickly, willing the small child to abandon those thoughts from his head. "Yes Dean, he's alive."

The sleepy boy's face broke into a huge relieved grin and looking at his brother, he huffed out a laugh. When he looked back at Castiel, Castiel was now sure that the light that he'd been searching for was right here in front of him and it was beautiful.

"Can you take me to him, please?"

Castiel nodded while disputing whether or not to bring Dean to his father by simply walking or by flying him himself. He didn't know how the small boy would react to being suddenly transported to the Great Hall. On the other hand, Castiel did not want to risk this child's health by making him walk back, he looked exhausted and had fresh cuts from the rose bush. Also, if they walked the guards would definitely stop them and bombard the poor child with questions that he probably did not want to answer.

Castiel pressed his fingers to Dean's forehead and the other to the sleeping Samuel's, and after Dean gave him a confused and slightly peeved look, Castiel made his journey.

Within seconds, they were back in the Great Hall and every single head had turned to them. Looking down at Dean, he could see that the child was only looking for one familiar face and when he found it, he was running toward his father with an obvious limp.

"Daddy!"

The look that appeared on John's face was one that reminded Castiel why he loved humans so much. John jumped from his throne and ran to Dean, tears already springing into his eyes, and within seconds he was scooping his sons into bear sized hugs and twirling them around. When he stilled, his shoulders were shaking and he was on his knees with Dean hugging him on the neck and Samuel now awake and whining from his rest being interrupted.

John took Samuel out of Dean's hands and held him tightly while, still holding Dean on his body by his hips.

"I- I-" John murmured to himself before breaking down into pitiful sounding sobs that racked his entire body and seemed to confuse his son. Dean pulled himself out of John's neck and with shaking hands; he wiped John's tears from his cheeks and chin.

"Daddy, don't cry."

John nodded, but continued to sob openly. He buried his face in Dean's shoulder and clung to Samuel, his tears escaping his eyes despite his son's plea. His brothers all looked relieved that the brothers were safe and sound, not in Lucifer's clutches as they once assumed and possibly a little angry at the guards for not doing their job properly and finding the children before they'd even wasted their time with preparatory actions.

Zachariah turned to Castiel and winked at him. Castiel nodded his head toward him, he could feel that his brothers were happy and that made him happy. He was also happy that one of his little searches actually proved beneficial, usually they only led him to constant dead ends or disappointment in what the light actually had been bugs, rocks, trees and unworthy humans.

It seemed to take forever before John finally let go of his children, Castiel wanted him to stop with the drama immediately so that Dean could get proper medical attention and some rest. Everyone in the room could see the frightful way that Dean swayed on his feet every time his father so much as shifted.

When John did pull away, however he did not let his children move. He just held Sam and looked Dean in the eye and started to do exactly what Castiel was afraid he would do.

"Where were you?"

Dean was silent for a moment before answering his father with slow deliberate words. "Sammy and me were hiding in a bush. We didn't know where else to go." Dean sounded almost sorry when he said those words, as if he'd done something wrong.

John exhaled long and slow and then really quickly clapped his son on the shoulder. "You did good Dean, that was good."

Dean's frown deepened and he shook his head. "I left mommy."

Something flashed past John's eyes at that point, something that not even Castiel could read, but he quickly schooled his expression and a broken smile grew on his lips.

"It's okay Dean, you did the right thing," John insisted. The smile disappeared after that, and John became all business once again. "What happened?"

Dean had no hesitation in reporting that, he restated the entire story and Castiel found himself impressed with all that the little boy in front of him went through on the night before, having to leave his mother behind to die, watching his friend get murdered, and climbing down the wall (although he expressed no sadness when talking about that part) was all too much for someone so young to go through. And all to save his little brother; Castiel's perception of that light only got brighter and brighter as the story went on.

"Daddy," Dean said.

John, still reeling from what he'd just been told, looked at his son with wide eyes. "Yes, son?"

"I'm tired; can I go to sleep please?"

John nodded and stood on his feet, holding Sam with one hand and holding Dean's hand with the other and started to walk out of the room. About ten to fifteen guards followed behind him closely and all of them armed and ready after yesterday's failures.

Without even looking back at the angels, John said, "Are you coming?"

Castiel and all of his brothers frowned, not knowing why they had to come along just for two kids to get put to bed. None of them answered.

John turned in their direction then. "I'm not leaving my sons, so if you want to continue this meeting it's going to be done somewhere where I can keep an eye on them."

This time Michael actually did roll his eyes, but he followed in John's direction and his brothers soon followed. As much as they all detested being told what to do and having to actually _follow_ someone else, they knew that they needed John just as much as John needed them. And as long as John had those boys in his custody they were going to have to deal with it.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Ice of Oblivion Chapter 3/24  
Fandom/Genre: SPN AU Romance, Drama, Action  
Pairing (s): Dean/Castiel  
Rating: T  
Word Count: ~82,000  
Warnings: Underage, Mild Sexual Situation, Violence

Summary: AU. _In a time of great tragedy in the lands of Mamot, the human race and the angel race are forced to form an unbreakable union that will bind them together for twenty seven lifetimes in order to stop the uprising of the demon race. In bargain they offer Castiel, one of the most powerful angels in the entire world to marry Dean Winchester, the young crown prince of the human world. The typically detached Castiel winds up falling in love with the Prince. The only problem is his brothers don't expect Dean to live through the war. Will Castiel stay and support the man he loves despite the heartbreak that might accompany his passing or will he fall back in line with his brothers, becoming numb to all human emotions once more?_

**Chapter 3**

John could not describe how good it felt to see those young faces enter his Great Hall. Even when the angels told them that they were going to get them back, John was convinced that at least one of his sons would be dead by the time they got there. He knew he would not be able to take that kind of heartbreak again, seeing his wife's dead body had been enough. To see either one of his children burned to a crisp or injured beyond repair would be entirely too much for John; he knew he would have to join them.

After they left the Great Hall, John had immediately rushed his sons to the Medical Ward. Sam was cleared with a clean bill of health, having no injuries inside or outside his body. Dean, on the other hand, was diagnosed with shin splints, from the landing way too hard on the ground. They taped his leg and put ice on it before sending him and Sam to bed.

John decided to make them both sleep in his room, Dean's room had been completely ransacked by the demons and John couldn't bring himself to go near Sam's nursery again. Besides, it was all burned up anyways.

They both fell out rather quickly and John, not knowing what else to do, continued his meeting with the angels outside of their room (with the door cracked of course).

"What are you willing to offer?"

Michael smiled and reaching down to his robes, he picked at an invisible lint ball. "We're willing to offer one hundred and fifty of our angels to provide protection for you, the royal family and all castle inhabitants."

At first John felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the generous offer, but as was his nature, suspicion followed closely after. "What's the catch?"

Michael laughed and shrugged. "No catch, we just want to make sure that we're all on the same page."

"Meaning?"

"We want an official alliance, one that is unbreakable in the eyes of Inim and Himmel alike."

John felt his eyebrows wrinkling and he crossed his arms with a heavy scowl forming. "I don't understand what you're getting at."

Michael frowned and bit his bottom lip, hard. "Your son, Dean Winchester, is meant to be our champion. We want _him_ in an unbreakable bond with us," Michael insisted. "Now, there are many ways to go about doing this, we could always take Dean with us-"

"No!" John barked, interrupting the suggestion without hesitation. He was **not** going to lose his son, not after yesterday.

Michael's smirk appeared again on his face and the beautiful man pouted as if thinking, though John knew that Michael already knew what he was going to ask of him. "I have a thought; how about a betrothal?"

"A betrothal?" John could remember a time when he was betrothed, she was a beautiful girl of noble blood; her name was Alice. From the time that he was a baby his parents decided that for him, and though he was happy with the idea at first, he barely knew her and upon meeting her he found out that she was rude and conceited. He went through hell with his parents to break off that engagement and marry his childhood friend, Mary. He did not want to put Dean through something like that.

"It is the perfect solution, this way your son can still live with you but he will be bound to us. And when the marriage takes place he'll be bound to his husband for eternity."

John inhaled sharply; did he really want to subject Dean to this? He was just a child; it wasn't fair for his future to be decided for him. But, what choice did he have?

"Who did you have in mind?"

"The only one of us who isn't paying any attention – Castiel."

John crinkled his nose and looked at the unfocused angel standing at the end of the line. He was looking at the wall with deep concentration and did so much as indicate that his name had been called. "This guy, out of all the angels, you had to choose him?"

Michael smiled, but John did notice something dangerous flash past his eyes because of the way that John spoke about his brother. "Castiel is the best for this job, unlike the rest of us; he has an actual compassion for humans. Though, as God's archangels, we all are required to love all of you Castiel understands you and truly cares for your wellbeing. Not to mention he is very popular in Inim, your people will understand if not rejoice when they hear that Castiel will be joining the royal family."

John nodded; it did make sense, politically and socially. But, he did not know if he could sell his son off like some prized cow just because he was part of some prophecy that he had nothing to do with. There was so much more he could do. "Mary and I swore to that no matter what the reason we wouldn't force our children to marry someone who didn't love them and who they didn't love in return. Dean doesn't love Castiel and Castiel does not love him, I would be breaking a promise."

"Let's get something straight, your kid is four. He has no idea who he loves," Zachariah claimed.

"And Castiel is in no way incapable of loving Dean," Uriel said. And always one to think on his toes, Uriel pointed a finger toward his brother.

It was at that moment that John noticed that Castiel was not looking at the wall. His eyes were on the wall, yes, but they were looking in the exact same place that Dean would be sleeping at had the wall not been there.

After seeing that, John knew that he had to say yes to this proposal.

If Dean were betrothed to this angel he would be taken care of long after the war. And Castiel definitely seemed like a loving person and even if he never fell in love with Dean, John knew that Dean would love him and Castiel would worship him in return. He had no choice, Dean was going to be happy one day after the inevitable war and John knew that a life amongst the five archangels of God would bring that happiness to him.

John nodded numbly. "I accept."

Castiel walked the halls of the Inim castle in blankly.

After his brothers told him about what they spoke about when he was not paying attention he was outraged. He didn't understand why he was the one who had to be married; Angel's typically never wasted their time getting married to anyone. When they mated with each other they just lived as mates, they didn't need a piece of paper to decide that they were bonded. Mating with a human was even worse; angel's lived as long as they wanted to, unlike humans who die whenever their bodies can no longer handle the stress of life. It was sad for them; but how was Castiel supposed to be married to one who could drop dead at any minute?

He shook his head and continued walking. But, as Zachariah explained to him, there was always a silver lining.

"Dean's going to belong to you for a good eighty or one hundred years, Castiel. That warmth that you're so ga-ga about will be with you all the time, not to mention you'll finally have someone to listen to all that philosophical mambo -jambo that you try to make us listen to."

Castiel knew that was true, but that was only if they knew each other. He didn't know Dean and even if he did, the child is just a child. Why would Castiel want to marry a child?

But, of course, Dean will not be a child when they get married; he'll be an adult. And as an adult he would expect certain things… things that married couples all over the world do…

He wasn't particularly afraid to have sex, but in the thousands and thousands of years he's been on Mamot, he'd never loved anyone to that extent- No angel or human- to even try. He knew his brothers did, especially Gabriel. But they never talked to him about it.

Castiel realized with a sinking of his heart that his aimless walking had led him right to where he did not want to be. There were two newly stationed angels standing on the outside of an arched doorway that led straight into the castle's prayer room. Castiel was often very excited to see the different types of rooms of prayer different places had; he hadn't been in this castle for over one hundred years and he heard there were some renovations made to the previously large chapel. Apparently when John Winchester came to rule, his wife decided that the prayer room was entirely too large and impersonal.

Castiel more or less agreed with her; he's seen some of the grandest churches and chapels that Mamot had to offer. But, no where inside of it has he ever felt such a light that Mary Winchester's son, Dean Winchester has inside of him; one that could have only been supplied by his father's presence in his life.

Castiel nodded evenly at the angel's in front of him and they let him past without a bit of hesitation.

When he entered the room something very rare happened on his face; he smiled. As soon as he entered the room there were two long transparent curtains that hung from the ceiling and down to the floor; the curtains were white with gold knitting shaping them into a squares. The floors were a dusty maroon with small blocks of carpet leading to the small shrine of sorts that sat at the very end of the room in front of a large window that allowed the sun to peek through. The rest of the room had various windows large windows, which made the room look brighter than it would with any candles. But still, on the shrine stood six small candles that only flickered next to a giant cross that stood in the very middle with purple and golden jewels littering the leading lines and one large diamond in the very middle it.

Castiel had never seen a prayer room that was this small and yet still emitted so much spiritual energy while still managing to look beautiful. And if the room was not enough, the little person sitting with his head bowed singing one of the rare hymns of the Inim people about his father.

_He who dwells in the gardens of Raj_

_Come to my land of love and exalt me_

_Come to my life and so I may not beseech your presence _

_Oh Dievas of my life, come to me now _

_Make me yours _

_Until my Oblivion days_

_Let me be the mat for your body alone_

_Let me be the arrow only for your heart _

_Let me be the wings for only your angel's fly _

_My life, my wise bountiful ruler, be mine. _

The tiniest hint of a smile formed on Castiel's face as he drew himself closer to the boy with the baby in his arms. His voice was still scratchy and tiny, but his singing such a beautiful song in his beautiful voice was enough for Castiel to see the rush of light and warmth that this boy emitted.

When Castiel was a couple of feet behind Dean, the young boy turned around sharply with a small smile on his face but it quickly fell away when he saw who it was. He turned his head back toward his little brother and started humming the tune of a song.

"Hello Dean."

Dean turned back around actually smiled at Castiel. It was a sad smile, but it was one nonetheless and Castiel's mouth twitched up in response.

"Hi," Dean said. "Tell Sammy hi, too!"

Castiel frowned and walked closer to Dean, until he was beside him. "Hello Sam."

Dean laughs as he stroked Sam's furry head with his thumb. "Sammy says hi!"

Castiel nodded and stood there watching his betrothed. He found it hard to believe that one day he would be married to this little boy. He found it even harder to believe that this beautiful little boy beside him would one day be the warrior that would save the world.

"Are you going to sit?"

Castiel pouted and looked at the dusty floor with disdain, but he sat down beside Dean anyway. Dean scooted to the side and patted the bit of the pillow beside him so that Castiel could move closer, he did. When he was close enough to him, Dean handed Sam to him and sighed while stretching his arms. Castiel awkwardly held the baby in his arms, not really knowing what to do with one so young other than make sure he does not fall.

"What's your name?" Dean asked him, frowning.

"Castiel."

"Cas-ti-el, I don't like it."

The Angel frowned. Well that was going to be a problem wasn't it? If Dean didn't like his name then how were they ever going to get married? Dean was never going to be able to call him by his name and if he did it would be just cause disgust and rage to fill him. Castiel's mind went on overdrive with his more neurotic worries, before Dean started talking again.

"Can I call you Cas instead? I like it more."

Castiel felt relief flood through him. "You can call me whatever you want Dean."

Dean smiled and then took Sam out of Castiel's hands, cradling him on his chest. "Okay Cas!"

Castiel didn't know how he felt about his new name, he did like Castiel, he's always liked Castiel and his father gave it to him. But, his betrothed didn't like it. Interesting…

"What were you singing when I came in?"

Dean furrowed his brows and shrugged. "I don't know the name of the song. But, my mommy used to bring Sammy and me here every day and sing that song to us. It's my favorite. It makes me feel real good."

Castiel smiled very shortly and nodded. "Does Sam like it?"

Dean pouted and gazed at his brother's drifting face. "I hope he does; I want him to like the song when he's old like me."

"I'm sure he'll always remember it Dean," Castiel frowned. From his studies on humans in the past, he knew that children rarely remember anything from when they were Sam's age. But he was not going to put a damper on Dean's mood. "You said your mom used to sing this to the both of you."

"Yes," Dean's voice no longer displayed the same pep from before and it now seemed sad. "I think Sammy liked Mommy's voice better, though. Mine is nasty."

Castiel was shocked when he heard the slight quiver in Dean's voice, looking closely he noticed that his large green eyes were glassy and his lips were sucked in. Without a thought, Castiel placed his hand on the back of Dean's neck and rubbed it, hoping that Dean got some sense of comfort, even though he knew that he was not too good at giving it.

Instead of smiling, like Castiel expected, Dean released a very loud howl and started bawling with his head bowed. Castiel was not very good at this sort of thing; he tried not to deal with ailing humans too much. But this was his betrothed not just some human; he was going to have to spend the next eighty years being bonded to this boy. Even if he didn't know how to heal him, he was going to try.

"Dean, you're mother is very proud of you."

Dean shook his head. "No, my mommy's in hell, She was killed by demons. They took her to hell with them when they killed her."

Castiel suppressed a sigh. Yet another one of the ploys that his brothers created came into play. Hell was a concept and part of life that the angels created to scare people into believing in their father. It was pure bullocks but it seemed that after a couple of centuries the humans started to believe that that was fact. Hell was not real. And as much as he did want to clear up Dean's misconceptions about hell and what it really meant; but he was going to be a king and if he remembered what Castiel said in the future than it could prove monumentally destructive for the angel's plans.

"Of course she is. She's in heaven with my father right now and she's very happy with you."

"How would you know?"

Castiel placed his finger on Dean's chin and moved him until he was facing him. "Dean, I'm an angel; I know."

Dean's eyes darted to Castiel and his previous sadness was completely gone, replaced by wonder and shock. "You're an angel? I've never met an angel."

Castiel frowned and his eyes darted to the door. "Didn't you meet the two at the door?"

Dean's looked positively ecstatic as he looked back and forth between Castiel and the door. "Wow! This is so cool, I can't believe it!" Dean gave Sam back to Castiel and without missing a beat he hopped onto his feet, placing both of his hands on Castiel's shoulder. "Would you be my guardian angel, Cas?"

Castiel knew what guardian angel meant and he also knew that it was fiction. Angels very rarely associated themselves with humans, much less become their personal protectors. But, just looking at Dean, he knew he could do that.

"Of course Dean," Castiel said.

And then Dean smiled, one of the biggest and most beautiful smiles that Castiel has ever seen and he wrapped his arms around Castiel's neck and hugged him tight. Castiel took in the nutmeg smell that was Dean Winchester and patted his arm with the one hand he was not using to hold Sam. He had never been hugged before, usually thinking that it was an unnecessary part of human life where they shared body heat. But, this was different.

Castiel had never felt so warm.

Dean pulled back with a squeak when Sam started crying. Castiel thought, with a bit of wry humor, that Sam was jealous that someone other than him was touching his big brother. Dean got back on his knees and pulled Sam from Castiel's arms; and just as he suspected the baby stopped crying and cuddled into Dean's chest.

Dean held Sam before looking at Castiel with a small frown. "Do you want to pray to my mommy with me?"

Castiel brought his hands together and bowed his head, assuming that Dean was doing the same he began to pray. But other than the usually stuff there was not much he could say so less than a minute later Castiel opened his eyes and sat up. And looked at Dean Winchester, who was hunched over way too far with his hands way to tight and straight, while he mumbled out various different promises that he probably would not keep, and a smile tore at his lips.

He pressed his hands together and bowed his head again. _I promise I will protect your son, Mary Winchester. _

Dean spent the next two weeks with Cas and he honestly never had more fun. Even with the castle acting like a crazy carnival, no one stopped Dean when he was playing with Cas. He, Cas and Sammy did so many different things together. Every morning, Cas came to his room and took him and Sammy to breakfast. He didn't eat, but he watched Dean and Sammy eat until he was ready to go.

Then they would visit the prayer room for a very quick prayer before Cas took Dean and Sam to the gardens; where Dean ran around trees and bushes for hours while Cas held Sammy and talked to them both. Then, of course, they were called back to lunch and after that, he would follow Cas around the castle for hours, holding his hand as the man inspected one thing or another. By dinnertime, he and Cas walked the length of the castle that Dean knew so well. After dinner, Cas bid Dean and Sam goodnight before drifting off. Sometimes Dean tried to follow him, but guards always caught him and told him to go to bed.

Though Dean still missed his mother and his friend and bodyguard London; he was really starting to like Castiel. In fact, it was his plan to tell Castiel that he was his new best friend when it happened.

John held Dean's hand and held Sammy in his arms as the now broken family watched the angels prepare to leave. Dean could feel his eyes glazing over; ever since his father told him that Castiel was leaving he couldn't stop the choking feeling from rising in his throat. He thought Castiel was going to stay forever and be his guardian angel like he said.

When he felt a stray tear fall from his eyes he quickly dropped his head and focused on his bare feet. He felt so hopeless; Dean was sick of losing people.

"Thank you for your participation, John Winchester."

"No worries. You guys did the most work."

Michael laughed. "Or so you think, what you're doing for us is much more important than a couple hundred angels lurking around."

Dean's ear perked up. Hundreds of angels! If there were so many he could find a replacement for Castiel, all of them could be his guardian angel if he asked them! '_No, I can't do that; Cas likes me and he'll be sad if I replace him.' _Dean sighed. It was hopeless; he lost his guardian.

"Thanks anyway," John insisted.

"Call on us if something happens. Otherwise, don't bother us; we have a lot of work to do."

"Sure."

Dean bit his bottom lip and looked back up to see the angel's standing still, looking at nothing in particular. He knew this meant they were leaving; Castiel did that all the time when he did not want to watch Dean eat lunch or dinner. Wrenching his hand from his father's, Dean ran to Castiel with tears in his eyes.

"Cas!"

Dean threw himself on Castiel's and clung tightly onto his hips. He buried his face his Castiel's pelvis and wiped his tears and mucus away on the fabric of his white robes.

"Please don't go Cas. I don't want you to, you're my best friend, please don't go. Please-please-please, just stay here. You can sleep in my room and I'll share my food with you and everything. Please!"

Dean heard twin bursts of laughter come from the other angels and very stern "Dean" from his father. But, he didn't care, he just wanted Castiel to stay and listen to him.

Castiel pushed him away softly and offered Dean a small smile. He gripped Dean by the shoulders and spoke,

"Dean, I can't stay here. I have work to do."

"B-but, I-I- you can't go."

"I'll be back Dean. Don't worry…" Castiel assured.

"When?"

"Soon." Castiel said, simply.

Dean didn't reply for a while but soon nodded. He wiped his tears with the back of his hand and moved back. He tried not to open his eyes, but he did see the shining light fall over his eyelids before disappearing all together.

When Dean opened his eyes, his friend was gone.


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Ice of Oblivion Chapter 4/24  
Fandom/Genre: SPN AU Romance, Drama, Action  
Pairing (s): Dean/Castiel  
Rating: T  
Word Count: ~82,000  
Warnings: Underage, Mild Sexual Situation, Violence

Summary: AU. _In a time of great tragedy in the lands of Mamot, the human race and the angel race are forced to form an unbreakable union that will bind them together for twenty seven lifetimes in order to stop the uprising of the demon race. In bargain they offer Castiel, one of the most powerful angels in the entire world to marry Dean Winchester, the young crown prince of the human world. The typically detached Castiel winds up falling in love with the Prince. The only problem is his brothers don't expect Dean to live through the war. Will Castiel stay and support the man he loves despite the heartbreak that might accompany his passing or will he fall back in line with his brothers, becoming numb to all human emotions once more?_

**Chapter 4**

Castiel ended up going back to Inim less than a year later.

He'll be the first person to admit that when he told Dean that he would be back soon, he meant on the day of their marriage ceremony. It would be an injustice to Dean but Castiel was sure Dean would have forgotten about him and their friendship by then.

Unfortunately, Castiel was not so lucky. Every day that he spent in Himmel, whether he was reading books, writing papers on human minds, or giving lectures to curious angels, Castiel could not get the little human boy with the big green eyes out of his mind. He missed him.

He'd only spent a week with the boy and yet he was the child's best friend – Dean _had_ called him his best friend had he not. And Castiel could almost agree that Dean was the closest none family member that he had. His contact with humans was scarce and he rarely saw any one of them more than once or twice in their lifetime and angels were all way to impersonal to have close friends anywhere outside of their families.

It wasn't a lonely life. Castiel spent his time studying, training and fighting; all things that entertained him in their variability and excess.

And he still had his brothers to keep him company and the many hungry minds that craved the knowledge that only Castiel could give them. Not to mention his father, who was always with him.

But, somewhere inside of him he knew that something was missing; something crucial and indefinable.

So here Castiel was, in front of the castle of Inim with his hands deep in his white robes and the rosy sun shooting past his eyelids. He didn't know what he expected to happen today; he knew he'd been gone a while and that's what scared him most.

Dean was so young and a year was a very long time to humans. There was a large chance that Dean would not remember him when he saw him.

Castiel promised himself that if Dean did not remember him he would leave and come back at his designated time. And at that point he could renew his friendship with Dean and possibly fill in this hole.

As soon as Castiel set foot in the castle, he was surrounded by a variety of human guards. Within seconds, their guns were inches away from Castiel's face and they were firing questions at him. Castiel felt a burst of irritation before it simmered away with the realization that he helped heal some of these people barely a year ago when they were inches away from death. And yet, they did not remember him.

He'd miraculously saved their lives and they had no idea who he was. And then there was Dean, a young boy with a tiny brain who he spent he spent a week watching play in the gardens. There was no way Dean would remember him.

It took no time for one of the guarding angels to identify him as one of the five angelic elites, Castiel. The men pulled back quickly and apologized until they were purple in the face, but Castiel could not offer them so much as a reassuring nod because of the glaring fact that they helped him discover.

He was escorted to the Advisors Room, where there was a meeting going on with the King and his many advisors. Castiel could have waited patiently, but he knew he would be excused if not welcomed into their meeting.

Pushing open the door, Castiel noted with severe distaste that the room looked nothing like it had merely a year before. There weren't obvious flaws, but for Castiel, who had fully examined this room for hours while allowing Dean to play in it one day. The tables had triangle-shaped chips on all of the edges and vaguely conspicuous rings throughout the clear table that all looked to come from wet beverage cups. The walls were not as properly furnished and seemed to dull in comparison to the rest of the décor.

"Castiel," An advisor, Castiel recalls her name being Ellen, piped up as soon as he entered.

"Did something happen?" Another advisor, Bobby, asked.

Castiel's eyes widened to an unnoticeable extent. Of course humans must deem every visit from an angel as an alert that something dire was about to happen; and from their anxious faces, Castiel almost wished he had something important to tell them.

"No, nothing's happening; I just was just looking for Dean."

The advisors all nodded and turned to John Winchester, The King. Castiel hadn't noticed the man at first, but he was pretty excited to see how the man was faring after he'd last seen him.

And there he was, at the very end of the table with a beer in one hand and a pile of papers in the other. His eyes were bloodshot and his face was pallid, his clothes were in complete disarray, as if he decided not to open his eyes when he was getting dressed. It was interesting… but Castiel could already see where this path was going to take John and he knew the effect it would have on his children.

"Dean's… uh…" John cleared his throat and wiped his eyebrow before continuing with a deep frown on his pale face. "He should be in the library with Sam."

Castiel nodded and turned to leave when he was stopped by John.

"Do you want me to call somebody in here to escort you?" John's speech was slurred and impossibly stagnant, Castiel didn't want to hear it anymore.

"No." Castiel replied before leaving the room.

He walked down the hall quickly, wanting to get away from that man and his problems before tried to help. He did not have time for that right now; he had to find Dean. It was not difficult to get to the library and finding Dean was even easier.

As soon as Castiel walked into the room, he saw Dean on the floor looking at picture books with Sam in a small chair beside him. The boy's legs were in the air and his pointed finger was lodged firmly in his mouth as if mimicking his little brother, who was doing the same thing.

He was not much bigger than he had been a year ago, but he did seem older in some ways. The way that he laid, the expressions he made and the concentration on his face was nothing like that of a four year old that he knew one year ago.

Dean looked up from his book as soon as Castiel entered. The look in his eyes when he saw Castiel actually scared the angel at first; he was obviously confused. He didn't remember him.

"Cas?"

Castiel frowned and then nodded slowly.

Before he knew it, Dean was on his feet and hopping over the head of his baby brother just to get in front of Castiel. He threw himself into Castiel's stomach, his arms wrapped tightly around the man's waist. Castiel reluctantly wrapped his arms around Dean's shoulders and back. He never thought he would fall in love with hugs like he has; but every time Dean wraps his body heat around Castiel, Castiel feels warm not just on the outside but on the inside as well.

Dean pulled away from the hug quickly, but he did not take his hands away from Castiel's waist. His face was bright and beaming as he clung to Castiel's waist with all that he had inside of him, as if Castiel would disappear again if he so much as loosened his grips.

Castiel, trying his hand at small talk, told Dean how big he'd gotten and how big Sam was now; which Dean only waved off with short 'I knows' and then commented on how Castiel looked no different than he did one year ago. After that was over, Dean pulled Castiel back to where he and Sammy were sitting and yanked him down to the ground; making Castiel experience for the first time having to sit down on a stone hard wooden floor, one that was a killer on his backside.

"Look Cas!"

When Castiel looked down at the picture that Dean was pointing to he was only a little surprised at what he saw. In front of his little friend was a highly elaborate picture of a gun and gun parts; inappropriate for any other five year old, of course, but not for this five year old.

"Isn't it great?"

Castiel cleared his throat and leaned over, observing the graphic picture with a critical eye. He recalled studying these exact photos almost fifty years ago when the concept of guns was first introduced to the world.

"My daddy says I'll be king soon. So, I _have_ to learn about guns and stuff, or I won't be a good warrior like him."

Castiel made a noise of agreement and nodded, placing his hand on Dean's shoulder he smiled. "You'll make a wonderful warrior, Dean."

Dean smiled at Castiel and rested his head on his lower arm. "I have to be so I'll be the perfect King."

Castiel did have a problem with this "king" notion. He very often observed children's behavioral patterns as they grew from childhood to adulthood and very rarely did children have such broad expectations in themselves. And if they did, except for concentrating like Dean is doing, they often reverted to even more childish behaviors and mannerisms. Castiel was proud of him, but at the same time, it was disheartening to watch.

"Castiel you're a king, right?"

Castiel, a king? Of course not, the only true king of Mamot was his Father. "No."

Dean took his head off of Castiel's shoulders and looked at him with wrinkled eyebrows, confused. "But, Dad said you and your brothers control everything in the _whole _world." Dean waved his arms high in the air to accentuate the 'whole world'.

"No Dean," Castiel said, chuckling. "My brothers and I are of course looked upon with more respect than anyone else because we were the First."

"First?" Dean cocked his head to the side in a manner that was very reminiscent to Castiel.

"We were the first beings on Mamot, placed here by our father many years ago and were here to bear witness to the birth of man, animal, demon and every other angel in existence."

"So… you're like gods?" Dean reasoned with an excited pep.

Castiel recoiled outraged. "No!"

Dean shrank back from his friend with a pout and a small shake. "…sorry…"

He hadn't meant to yell, but the idea was so ludicrous and outrageous. No able minded human being would ever assess that an angel was _like _a god; it was like saying that they were on the same level as their father. It was blasphemous and offensive. But, looking at Dean's quivering lower lip and the foolish way that he clung to that large book like it was the key to the universe, Castiel realized that though the small boy beside him was smart for his age and would one day be a wonderful warrior, he was still a child.

"Uh- no Dean, we're not like gods," Castiel said. "I'm sorry by the way."

Dean's lips immediately stopped quivering and his pout morphed into an excited smile. He patted Castiel on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry its okay. But, why aren't you king of the world anyways, you've been here forever."

Castiel sighed, realizing that rational conversation was not good for someone like Dean and started rubbing small circles on the child's back. "I just didn't think it was the right job for me."

Dean nodded as if he understood exactly what his friend meant and he leaned back into Castiel's soft touch. "Its okay, the job isn't for everyone."

"But it's for you?"

Dean nodded. "It has to be. If I'm King, I'll be strong enough to take care of Sammy and Dad. Then you can move in with me and be my most trustful servant."

Castiel huffed a chuckle. "… servant?"

"Yes, I'll take care of you too Cas." He throws himself into Castiel's arms.

From beside them, they heard a soft whine that prompted Dean to pull away from his friend quickly and console his little brother. He placed his finger on the boy's bottom lip and Sam immediately started sucking on the bony finger of his brother.

" 'ungry!"

Castiel almost jumped when Sam finally spoke; he's expected it to happen by now. But, it was a shock to hear the youthful voice of the baby he'd known not too long ago.

Turning to Castiel Dean said, "I think he's hungry."

Castiel's head cocked to the side as he stared at his little friend; and exactly what was he supposed to do with that information?

Dean dramatically rolled his eyes to the back of his head and sighed. "Can you get his cup for me? It's on the floor beside Sammy's books."

The library was as a whole, one of the neatest places in the whole castle. Every book stacked in perfect alphabetical order by genre and writing style; the floors were neatly polished and gleaming while the tables and chairs were neatly positioned in row that reminded Castiel of the most perfect alignment of ant species when they made camp. But, the area that Dean and Sam took over was not as… well… _blended_ as the rest of the room.

In their little area, there was a wide array of books scattered all along the floors some were picture books while the rest were highly elaborate books about war and fighting… books that Castiel kind of knew Dean could not understand. Also, not in par with typical library rules, there were scones and cups of juice all over the floor. Some were on the floor while some were on the tables. There area was a complete mess, but low and behold, right next to the largest assortment of colorful picture books was a the smallest cup of red juice.

Castiel picked it up and grimaced at how wet the outside of the cup was. He carried it to Dean and grabbed a small scone along with it.

Dean took them both from him and silently thanked him before stuffing the cup into Sam's mouth, followed by the scone.

Castiel sat back down next to Dean Winchester and frowned. He _would_ make an amazing warrior one day; he was caring, strong and already had the easy personality that people so often looked upon in their leaders. Yes, he was going to be amazing. His father made the right decision when he choose Dean as their champion. But, Dean wanted to be King too. Castiel couldn't help but feel that was too much for one person to handle.

"Dean, why do you want to be King?"

"I told you."

"You know, you don't have to be King. Your little brother here can be King too; you could just live your life."

Dean shook his head and somberly peered down at his little brother; petting him on the top of his furry head. "No, Sammy shouldn't have to worry about that stuff. That's not his job, it's mine," Dean said. "Sammy's a genius! He's going to be a healer, right Sammy?"

"Right!" The one and a half year old stood on his bony legs and jumped onto Dean, who was on his knees at the time. Dean wrapped his arm around his baby brother and smiled at Castiel.

"Don't worry Cas, it's the job is right for me."

Castiel wanted so badly to argue and combat the decision, at least for now, while Dean was still a child. But all he did was force a smile and nod. Dean will be fine, he'll outgrow this dream and decide to be warrior only, like Father intended.

It was less than a month later when Castiel decided to return home. He told Dean that the only reason he had to leave was because he had to write something; apparently, while he, Dean and Sammy were walking through the gardens one day, Castiel saw the most peculiar breed of plant. In fact, it was so peculiar that Castiel had to stop their walk for one whole hour just to further examine the tiny blue plant; which was much more than Dean's tiny attention span could take.

Sam took interest though and listened to everything Castiel had to say, even when he didn't understand half of what the angel was saying. It was annoying and eventually Dean got so fed up that he just picked the flower out of the ground and shoved it into Castiel's hands, and then proceeded to pull him and Sammy along so they could finish their walk.

The next day, Castiel remarked with excitement that he was going back home to finish write a paper on the blue plant and possibly find copies of them; and if there were none then to definitely make them. He was so excited to leave that he didn't even notice Dean cry… well, he didn't cry. His dad told him he was way too old for that; but he did feel his eyes water and he was pretty sure something wet slid down his cheek. Maybe it was rain.

Dean followed Castiel outside when he was ready to leave. His father didn't come along; he was uninterested in seeing Castiel off, just like he was uninterested in everything else lately.

Dean sighed and reached up, gripping Castiel's hands into his own. Castiel looked at him with a mixture of worry and amusement and gave Dean's hand a slight squeeze when they made it outside. He unlaced his fingers from Dean's and stood in front of him, placing both of his hands on Dean's shoulders he offered him a small smile.

"I'll be back soon Dean."

Dean didn't say anything; he only turned away from the man and looked instead at the swaying trees that stood at the end of the yard.

"I promise when I come back I'll tell you all about the plant, what it means and what it does. It'll be an interesting story."

Dean still remained silent.

"Tell your father and Sam I said goodbye."

Zip.

"Okay…" Castiel cleared his throat and moved away from him. "Goodbye Dean."

That got Dean's attention, his wide tear-filled eyes snapped toward his Castiel and he opened his mouth as if to speak, but quickly shut it. Walking towards his friend, he encased him in a hug and buried his face in Castiel's stomach. He rubbed his tears away on the man's still white robes and mumbled,

"I'll miss you."

If Castiel heard him, he didn't say anything in response. He only patted the boy on his back and after a couple of minutes, stepped away and frowned.

"Goodbye."

"Bye, bye."

There was a flash of light, a fluttering of feathers, and he was gone.


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Ice of Oblivion Chapter 5/24  
Fandom/Genre: SPN AU Romance, Drama, Action  
Pairing (s): Dean/Castiel  
Rating: T  
Word Count: ~82,000  
Warnings: Underage, Mild Sexual Situation, Violence

Summary: AU. _In a time of great tragedy in the lands of Mamot, the human race and the angel race are forced to form an unbreakable union that will bind them together for twenty seven lifetimes in order to stop the uprising of the demon race. In bargain they offer Castiel, one of the most powerful angels in the entire world to marry Dean Winchester, the young crown prince of the human world. The typically detached Castiel winds up falling in love with the Prince. The only problem is his brothers don't expect Dean to live through the war. Will Castiel stay and support the man he loves despite the heartbreak that might accompany his passing or will he fall back in line with his brothers, becoming numb to all human emotions once more?_

**Chapter 5**

The paper as well as the gene cloning took a year and a half to fully complete. The plant turned out to be a cross breed of an Iris and a Dahlia; the most curious thing was that the two flowers grew in totally different seasons. How they crossed was a mystery to everyone he's asked but it was interesting to study. Though, by the end of two years he knew nothing of how or why and decided to leave it alone for a while.

He was really starting to miss his betrothed and friend Dean. He was starting to realize how refreshing his company was when compared to the dreary scholars and even his brothers; they were all nice and intelligent. But, Castiel got just as sick of them as they often did of him.

Dean was different; if he could stay in Inim forever with him he would. Unfortunately, he had so many duties at home and all of his hobbies were best done in his study, in his lab or in his room.

But, he was back now and he was happy.

He found Dean outside of the castle in what was previously the garden. The first person he saw was Sam. The now three-year-old boy was on the ground playing with a doll and an action figure while building blocks into the shape of a house. Castiel barely understood how quickly humans grew up, it seemed like only yesterday this little boy was a baby who cried and whined whenever his big brother so much as left his sight.

A loud bam shocked Castiel from his attention on the three year old. He turned slowly and saw across the field, his Dean. He was taller than last time, much taller and his hair grew to the point where his bangs fell down into his eyes while the rest fell down his neck. He was no longer the child that Castiel knew; he was turning into the warrior that they needed.

In his right hand he held a still smoking shotgun that was roughly his size and in the other, he couldn't hold anything because of the cast that covered his fist and lower arm. Dean lowered his gun and strained his eyes to see where his bullet landed. Castiel smiled and approached the boy slowly, Dean heard him coming from far away and when he saw who it was the smallest of smiles formed on his face and walking forward to meet him halfway.

When they were close enough to each other, Castiel expected to find himself with an armful of bouncing five year old; instead he was only met with a stiff and hard handshake of a eight year old whose hands were way too soft for such a hard grip.

The small talk was much faster this time around; Dean seemed too busy to even properly greet his friend and he was soon back to shooting while Castiel spoke to Sam.

The young boy proved to be stimulating company, not to Dean's extent, but he was smart for his age and liked to talk… a lot.

"Yesterday, Dean and me went for walk around the castle, I got to see the kitchens and the gardens and the great hall and the toy room and the… uh… I got to see my old room and I got to see… uh… I saw a lot yesterday." Sam rambled.

Castiel nodded with short 'ah' and 'ohs'; he still watched Dean from the corner of his eyes and from what he could collect, Dean was trying his hardest to hit a target at the far end of the field. It was outlines with a bright white circle, followed by a black one, then another white one and so on. It was very far and Castiel was almost sure that Dean was making it pretty close to the target but in no way was he spot on. He was frustrated and looked about ready to snap; but he pressed on with the shooting and the extreme wasting of bullets.

"Sam," Castiel started. Sam's ear perked up at the sound of his name and he stopped talking immediately and looked at the older man in front of him. "How long has your brother been out here?"

Sam shrugged. "I don't know. He was here before I was and I came after pancakes."

Since before breakfast Dean's been out here trying to hit that tiny target at the very end of the field; the one that was too far away from Dean to even see without much trouble. Castiel stood and walked away from Sam and toward Dean. Dean, as expected, heard Castiel coming from his spot near Sam, which was not significantly far, and smiled.

"Do you need something, Cas?"

Castiel shook his head. "Are you hungry?"

Dean blinked in confusion, the question catching him off guard. He lowered his gun until it was touching the floor and placed his wrapped up hand on his thin stomach. "A little…"

"Okay, I'll join you and Sam for lunch," Castiel cocked his head toward the castle walls and glanced quickly at Sam.

For a second, it seemed like Dean was going to agree with the idea but he shook his head slowly and raised the shotgun up to his level again. "I can't yet… I have to shoot that target. I've been trying for two weeks. Dad said that as soon as I can hit that target, he'll teach me how to fight."

Castiel understood. He really did, if Dean planned to be a warrior he would have to do things like this but not at the expense of his health. He gave himself no room for failure and though that did often mold heroes and leaders that was not something that this child should be embarking in at such a young age. Dean went back in place and shot at the target with almost no concentration.

"You'll never hit that target that way Dean."

Dean's head snapped around to Castiel and for the first time since they've known each other, Dean scowled at his old friend. "What do you mean?"

Castiel was shocked from Dean's rash reaction but he didn't show it. He already saw how frustrated Dean was by the whole situation and Castiel was not willing to snap at him the same way that Dean was snapping at him. He was going to help because this was _Dean _and he was more important than tempers.

"Here, I'll help you," Castiel said.

He approached Dean slowly and got on his knees behind him. He placed his hand on Dean's lower arm and his other on Dean's waist. The young boy looked at Castiel as if he'd grown two heads, his mouth was hanging open with shock and the tiniest tinge of pink sat on his cheeks and neck. His arms and stomach began trembling. Castiel was a little confused by his behavior but continued on.

"What are you doing?" Dean asked through clenched teeth.

Castiel gripped Dean's arm tighter to stop the sporadic shaking and pushed on his waist and hips to put him in the correct position.

"Listen Dean, this is really simple. Make sure your arms are straight and completely in the direction that you want it to be in. Bullets only fly straight and in the direction that you decide for them. If you want it to hit the target it's your responsibility to guide the bullet. And make sure your legs are spread out so that you have just enough room to run if things don't turn out the way you want. It'll raise confidence and decrease any anxiousness that you may feel before taking the shot."

As much as Castiel didn't want to admit it, he felt sort of sick explaining something like this to a child.

Raising himself into in front of Dean's ear and whispered, "Now Shoot."

A loud bang went fell on uncaring ears as the bullet ripped through the air. From where he was, Castiel could see the bullet lodge itself into the thick target that stood at the end of the field; he smiled at the back of Dean's head.

Dean, not having eyesight like his friend, tore away from Castiel and ran toward the target. As soon as he made it over there, he let out a loud 'Whoop' and threw himself into the air. He ran back to Castiel and for a second he was sure that Dean was going to give him one of his signature BIG bear hugs; but Dean did not do more than pat Castiel on the arm and smile at him.

"Thank you, Cas!"

After that, Dean ran over to his brother and they started doing some sort of strange-looking dancing that probably was not a dance at all. Castiel smiled at the two. Their relationship was truly beautiful in the sort of way that Castiel rarely saw in humans nowadays; they were much closer than any siblings their age typically are. In the many years that Castiel has been alive, he has noted that siblings at their age usually felt jealousy and rage toward one another or at least mild resentment when their sibling is good at something.

Dean and Sam were so different. Except for jealousy, the two displayed pride in each other's accomplishments and actually, at this stage in their life, wished each other the best. Castiel knew that somewhere Mary Winchester was proud of the bond they formed; and Castiel was definitely proud. This relationship might prove useful in the coming years.

But, somewhere inside of him, Castiel knew that this was not one hundred percent normal. He knew that the only reason these two had a relationship like this was because of the tragedies that happened almost three years ago. Because of that night Dean was no longer Sam's brother and Sam was no longer Dean's. They were so much more. It _was _beautiful, but it was sad too.

Dean and Sam finished their dancing and Dean was pulled Castiel back towards the castle. "Come on, we want lunch now."

* * *

"Why are you reading this?"

After working throughout the day with the angels and human guards, Castiel decided to visit his friend Dean to wish him a goodnight. The moon was high in the air after all and nighttime fell long before Castiel even thought about visiting Dean. When he walked in he saw Dean sitting on a desk in his room, the smallest of candles flickering a couple of inches away from the a rather lengthy book that he was reading.

Dean heard him come in but he didn't so much as look up, only murmured, 'Hey Cas' before continuing on with his book. When Castiel saw it, he knew what it was without reading the first couple of words; Strategies of War as written by Resurrectio Gonseprial, a demon from almost one thousand years ago. Castiel read it once all the way through and decided that the book was too deep for him to ever read again. But here Dean was absorbing the thing like water.

Castiel snatched the book from Dean's grip and held it close to himself, shielding the book full of sin and blasphemy away from his young betrothed.

"Stop it Cas," Dean hopped up from his place in front of his desk and snatched the book back out of Castiel's hands. "It's not like I can understand half of these words anyways."

Dean sat back down on his chair and put the book back in its original place. Then, he continued reading as if nothing at all happened. Castiel peered over Dean's shoulder and read the page that he was reading; it was one of the particularly gruesome ones. A group of angels were circling around his army of demons; there were significantly less angels than there were demons, so they decided to mow through the outermost corner of the angels brutally injuring them (seeing as demons still have not figured out a way to kill angels). The point was, they made it out through that corner and managed to attack the remaining angels from the offensive; effectively injuring them all.

It was so brutal to Castiel because the people who'd been brutalized were his people. He'd been there with his brothers when the angels were transported back to Himmel as no more than shadows of their former selves. Castiel remembered that time as the most stressful of his entire life; he honestly had not known that something as lowly as demons could hurt angels.

Why Dean would read such filth was beyond Castiel's comprehension.

"Do you understand how dangerous this book is? The kind of things written in here?"

Dean rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically. "It's not a big deal."

"Dean this book was written by a demon, do you call that _not_ a big deal?"

"To beat a demon is to think like one, that's what dad told me when he gave me this. So, I'm reading it and there's nothing you can do about it!" Dean stuck his tongue out of his mouth and turned sharply away from the angel.

Castiel was not one hundred percent familiar with what displaying ones tongue meant in the human world, but he was sure it was not meant to be respectful. "For my sake, please… you're too young to for this."

Dean pouted. "I'm eight and I am too old enough. You know I'll be king in less than twenty years, I have to know this stuff by then."

Castiel released a long-suffering sigh and rubbed the sides of his temple, realizing that this was the first child-induced headache he's ever had. He knew that John was right in having Dean read 'Strategies of War', not many of the books about war written by humans were as brutal or surprisingly intelligent as that one and Dean _did_ have to learn. The fact that it had to be so early was simply a consequence of circumstance… Dean knew that he had to wait twenty years to be king, but Castiel and his brothers had no idea when the war would begin and Dean's battle would commence.

It made perfect sense that he was reading that… but it did not ease Castiel's conscience nor did it cleanse his guilt. If Dean's childhood was over, ended years ago, then it was for the greater good that he learned all he could. Shooting guns that were as large as him, reading books that described images that someone Dean's age had no business hearing about let alone seeing and skipping a couple of meals. It was all necessary if it meant them beating the demons in the coming Dark Times.

Giving up on progressing, Castiel walked closer to Dean, looking over his shoulder at the book that sat in front of him. When Dean noticed his position he turned around and stuck his tongue out at Castiel for a second time and then finished his obvious struggle with reading the difficult book. After five minutes or so of being stuck on the same page Dean looked at Castiel again with the smallest of pouts, pointing his bony finger at a word.

"Immaculate,"

Dean's eyebrows furrowed and he cocked his head to the side.

Castiel could not fight the twitch of his lips. "It means flawless, Dean."

Dean nodded understanding. "So… his plan was flawless he says…" the boy smiled and looked at Castiel with eyes that twinkled entirely too bright for _just_ a human. "Cas, I think you're imm-a-cu-late."

Castiel could barely believe how quickly Dean forgot his anger and ended up passing it off as a human thing before what Dean said fully sunk in. He smiled and dipped his head in a bowing motion toward the future King of Inim.

"Thank you."

* * *

Horror was the only word Castiel could use to describe the next twenty-four hours in Inim. Placing his hand on Dean's head, he cradled the sleeping child and sighed into his blond hair. Pure horror, it was. It all started when Castiel decided to read the Devil Book to Dean when he felt that he was having too much trouble sounding out and defining most of the words he came across.

The way that Dean's jaw hardened and his eyes widened whenever the book got particularly shocking, at one point he spilled a hot cup of tea on his lap in shock at one particular story about the demon sending his troops into human homes and having them butcher every child five and younger. He went to check on Sam right after that and Castiel couldn't blame him.

By the end of the night, Castiel was sure that he'd succeeded in scarring the poor child for life. Dean told him that he understood everything that was read to him and that he was not afraid of any of it.

Though, Castiel was convinced that that was not the case when Dean shot out of his bed when the sun was just peeking from the hills screaming and holding his chest with his fists.

He'd looked at Castiel with wide scared eyes before racing past him to the bathroom.

The next time Castiel saw Dean was at dinner that night.

Castiel did not eat, at least his body did not require it, but he decided to try it out that night just to be near Dean. The Hall in which the food was served was very long and wide; there were tree sized windows all spread out across the wall with red draping hanging down the sides, golden strings were designed to hold them together but they were released for the night. The shining moon from outside illuminating through the red curtains and the faint glow of the high candles gave the room a sinister appearance; Castiel acknowledged this with growing apprehension at how befitting it was for the coming times.

He tried to smile at Dean from across the table, but the boy was having none of that and simply locked his eyes on the green peas that rolled around on his plate.

Castiel knew that Dean was angry with him what he didn't know was why and honestly he didn't want to find out. The emotions of his little friend were way too unstable for that type of analysis and he decided to drop it. The dinner flew by without consequence. John was not there and no one said a word about it, not one advisor or even the children. They just went on with their pleasant conversations as if it was _normal _for the king to miss his dinners. Probably the same way it was normal for the eight-year-old Dean to miss breakfast.

By the time dessert rolled around, Castiel made the decision to leave Inim for a while. He knew what his brothers expected of Dean, he knew what John expected of Dean but he did not need to see those expectations being carried out. It might devastate his friend but it was for the best, Castiel did not want to end up speaking out of turn about the situations he saw playing out there; until he and Dean were married it was none of his business.

Just as soon as Castiel leaned over to tell Dean his decision, about six guards ran in carrying the crippled body of someone who appeared to be part of the royal army. In a completely unceremonious manner, they dropped the body on the floor closest to the table. Without missing a beat, every advisor stood and crowded around the dying man while Dean took Sam from his seat and rushed him out of the room. The man was beyond helping; his wounds were too deep and too scattered for Castiel to make any real breakthroughs. Plus, he would be leaving soon and the unnecessary energy decrease from even trying would delay that.

"I- I- there were…" The man coughed up a large amount of blood and spun onto his side, still heaving and bucking.

Every voice blared at the man at the same time; _what happened, who are you, what did you see, Stop Dying and Talk, Damnit_ (that one was Bobby).

Castiel felt his eyebrow twitch and at the risk of saving himself from yet another headache, Castiel firmly said, "Stop!"

Not another sound was heard, no one having the guts to speak over the obviously irritated angel before them. When everyone was silent, Castiel looked the man deep and the eyes and dropped to his level.

"What happened?"

The man inhaled sharply and with a gurgling voice, he started. "We were on patrol, me and fifty others. Somehow, these demons circled us, we all ran in different directions; I don't know how many made it out… but everyone who followed me… they were taken down."

Castiel nodded.

"They're all dead, man. I didn't know what to do, I had to get back here to tell the King. I had to-" A very sharp inhale of breath ended the man's life and he fell limp to the floor.

He hadn't stood a chance.

Castiel fell to his knees and closed the man's eyes. "You can rest now."

There were soft murmurs all around him but Castiel lost all senses necessary to listen when he turned to around and through the peak of two men he saw a wide-eyed Dean staring at the dead body with an uneven mix of confusion and deep sadness. All Castiel could do was suck in his lips and shake his head. Dean had to learn.

* * *

The next six hours was like Summer time in Iad. After consulting with John who had apparently been very busy during dinner binge drinking and doing paperwork – great combination by the way- the advisors sent some of their fellow angel guards out to pick up every man who was injured outside their walls. They did come back with all fifty men, but none were injured.

They stood in a line on the front lawn of the castle, John was closest to the front arches of the castle because he, of course, was the king and because he needed somewhere to lean lest he lost balance. Castiel stood in the middle of the line directly beside Bobby and Dean – yes, Dean. John insisted that Dean join them outside to greet the incoming warriors of Inim.

Unfortunately, what Dean ended up greeting were the corpses of friends and acquaintances of his.

Castiel offered his hand to Dean when the first body was rolled by, but the boy did not want to look weak. So, instead, he gripped the back of Castiel's robes, where no one but he could see and bared the evils before him with a brave and steely gaze.

After the bodies were rolled in nobody spoke; everyone regarded the trails of blood, drops of hair and teeth that were lost during the "presentation" and before they knew it, they were off again. John clearing his throat and proclaiming he needed to "wet his whistle", Bobby Singer putting his hat back on and yelling a string of obscenities at the King, Ellen and her husband seeking out their daughter, Missouri picking up her bible and moving back to the safety of her chapel and all of the others going back to their respective work.

Dean was a different story; he stood there staring at a piece of tooth that fell barely an inch away from his feet and the blood that surrounded it. His arm was shaking and his eyes were wide and glassy. He looked like he'd just been shot and he was wondering if it actually happened.

Castiel could understand his grief, he'd felt the same way when his fellow angels were wheeled in that night; it was a night like this one too. The moon was shining with intensity that Castiel had never seen and a couple of stray clouds littered the sky; but the stars still shone like it was their wedding day. All in all it was a beautiful night… but it was hell in disguise.

Castiel took Dean's hand into his own and pulled him away from the scary sight that the maids were just rushing out to clean. He could not subject him to anymore of that.

He didn't look back at Dean once, knowing that if he did he would end up staying there in Inim just a bit longer than he planned. He knew that his denying that man a chance at life just a couple of hours ago would have been for no reason. He knew that his emotions would get the best of him and he would want to stay in Inim and shelter Dean from everything he saw tonight. He knew…

When they made it to Dean's room, Sam was sitting in front of it, cross-legged with a tall book in his hands. As soon as he saw Dean, his tiny eyes lit up and he jumped to his feet holding out the book triumphantly. "I want this one tonight!"

Castiel felt a twinge of irritation. Dean did not have time to read that book to Sam; he had to get his rest, especially after the sights he just witnessed. He was about to say just that to the excited boy, but Dean spoke up first.

"Just go into your room and get ready for bed, Sammy. I'll be there in a few." His voice was weak and tired, but Castiel could hear the smile on his lips.

"Okay, I want you to read it to me twice, okay!"

"Okay."

With that, Sam skipped off merrily to his room next door to Dean's.

Castiel dragged Dean into his own room and sat him down on the bed before sitting down beside him, still not looking at him.

They sat there in silence for what seemed like hours to Castiel. But soon, Dean's small hand found Castiel's and he threaded his fingers in between his friend's.

"When I become a warrior..." Dean paused and exhaled. "Will that happen to me?"

Castiel shook his head; admittedly more for his own sake then Dean's and smiled. "No Dean, nothing like that would ever happen to a King."

The tenseness in Dean's grasp did not let up. After a couple more moments of silence, Dean spoke again only this time his voice was barely a whisper and dripped with sadness. "Will that happen to more people I know… or, or my friends?"

There it was. Castiel could go down the road of a responsible adult and treat Dean like the child he was; tell him that nothing like that would ever happen again and get a warm fuzzy feeling when Dean gave him one of his killer smiles. Or he could go down the road that his brother's and John were already tracking and tell Dean the truth. He probably wouldn't get the smile that he longed for… but Dean would know what to expect and he would make a better warrior because of it. But, his childhood would suffer one more blow, whether it would be the killing one remained to be seen.

"Yes Dean, it will."

It was silent for all of five seconds before Dean released a whine and tore his hand away from Castiel to cover up his own face. And Castiel finally looked at him, he watched his shoulders shake sporadically and he listened closely to the incessant whimpers coming from Dean.

"Come here, Dean."

As soon as those words were uttered, Dean was on his feet and throwing his arms around Castiel's neck. He buried his nose into the nape of his neck and washed away his tears. Castiel wrapped his arms around Dean's back and held him closer. Though he did not get the smile he wanted, Castiel got one thing that he'd been missing ever since he got there and that was the Dean's embrace.

With a small nod of certainty, Castiel decided that he would stay if only for a little while longer.


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Ice of Oblivion Chapter 6/24  
Fandom/Genre: SPN AU Romance, Drama, Action  
Pairing (s): Dean/Castiel  
Rating: T  
Word Count: ~82,000  
Warnings: Underage, Mild Sexual Situation, Violence

Summary: AU. _In a time of great tragedy in the lands of Mamot, the human race and the angel race are forced to form an unbreakable union that will bind them together for twenty seven lifetimes in order to stop the uprising of the demon race. In bargain they offer Castiel, one of the most powerful angels in the entire world to marry Dean Winchester, the young crown prince of the human world. The typically detached Castiel winds up falling in love with the Prince. The only problem is his brothers don't expect Dean to live through the war. Will Castiel stay and support the man he loves despite the heartbreak that might accompany his passing or will he fall back in line with his brothers, becoming numb to all human emotions once more?_

**Chapter 6**

"You're going back there again. You've only been here for two months, Castiel. I'm starting to think you don't like us anymore."

Castiel scowled at his older brother, Gabriel as he scooped the blue flower that had just recently budded out of its flowerpot. It was a spawn of the same one that he found in the Inim castle gardens that day with Dean and Sam. It was just as beautiful, if not more so, than the original and that was thanks to constant prodding on Castiel's part. He wanted to give it to Dean as a gift when he returned. It would be a solid two years now, which means Dean would be eleven practically a pre-teen. It was exciting and heartbreaking all at once.

"I've been here two years Gabriel," Castiel replied with a small smile. "You've been here two months."

Gabriel pouted, as if thinking before nodding with a resounding 'Ah'. His leaned further in the chair that adorned Castiel's room and kicked his feet up on a small table that stood before his bookcase.

Castiel rolled his eyes at his brother's blatant disrespect of his space, but choose to ignore it in favor of wrapping the end of the large flower in some kind of ceramic material. He understood why his brother was a little upset by his leaving so soon; since the beginning of time the five brothers sought company in each other. When his father blessed Mamot with new beings they did have less time for each other, but they never went on extended vacations to other lands like Castiel has; frequent visits to neighboring nations of course; their presence was always needed by less wise beings.

Anyway, after Castiel stayed a whole year in Inim two years ago to console Dean after the particularly traumatic experience of watching dead soldiers being dragged into the castle his brothers had all been particularly watchful and irritated with Castiel's constant talk of Dean.

Gabriel was particularly annoyed with Castiel and had no qualms about showing it.

The behavior confused Castiel. He thought his brothers would want him to spend more time with Dean; after all it was their decision to betroth them in the first place.

But, alas, Castiel stopped worrying about his brothers and their quirks. He was just excited to see Dean and how big he's gotten. He almost felt like he was a very distant relative of Dean's, who was always away but still loved his relative nonetheless and grew eager whenever they so much as wrote to him.

Yes, he and Dean started writing to each other.

When Castiel left Dean to his own devices two years ago, he could not lift the weight that crushed his heart whenever he so much as thought about what else the boy might be going through at home: how many dead bodies he's seeing, how many breakfast's he's skipping, how many guns he's shot or how many times in the last two years his father so much as hugged him. Dean never gave straight answers about anything happening at home in his letters; but there was a happy feel to them. Castiel did not know whether Dean was happy at home or if the letter from his best friend simply raised his sprits, but with every letter Castiel just wanted to see Dean more.

"You know, this is irresponsible, brother," Gabriel suggested with a wiggle of his eyebrows. "You're gonna have sex with an eleven year old, you dirty dog!"

Castiel wanted to ignore is brother, he really did; but his stating that his relationship with Dean was anything but pure was a snapping point for him. Dashing over to his brother, Castiel looked at him sharply and slammed his already balled fists onto the table his brother was propped up on.

"Dean and I do not share a relationship like _that_," said Castiel, his voice dripping with anger. "I will not let you dishonor him –"

"Hey, cool it!" Gabriel interrupted. He held his arms up in submission and smirked. "I'm just having a little fun."

Castiel took his hands off of the table and took a step back; after thousands and thousands of years of playing his brother's games Castiel had never felt so heated or offended about anything before. But this was _Dean_, his betrothed, his friend and his family. He was an innocent child, probably not completely in the mind, but in the body and soul. No one was allowed to speak low of him, especially not in the manner that Gabriel was.

"Just stop it, Gabriel." Castiel walked back to the opposite side of his room and continued wrapping the flower to best suit Dean's taste; he hoped the boy would like his gift.

After a couple of minutes of silence- Castiel neatly wrapping and Gabriel thoughtlessly playing with his thumbs- the latter finally decided to voice whatever thoughtless thoughts he'd been mulling over in his head. "I don't get why you're always there anyways,"

Gabriel stated. "Don't you have books to write or more useless plants to study and/or destroy?"

Castiel smiled in the direction of his brother and shook his head. "There are many things I have yet to do, but I truly miss him," Castiel said in a sickeningly tender voice, so sick that he even found it too affectionate for one so young that he truly knew very little about. "Besides, it's good for me to become friends with the boy that I will one day marry."

Gabriel chuckled from behind him and the chair creaked when Gabriel – supposedly- moved to sit in a different position. "Do you really think Michael requested that you marry him because he thought you two would make just a slammin' couple whose love will inspire legions of lovers from all over Mamot?" Gabriel asked him with mock starry-eyed bliss- his hands were even balled up into fists and his face leaned toward the sky.

Castiel rolled his eyes, but could not fight his smile. Why else would his brother betroth him to Dean? Sure, to have Dean as a political ally was important… but more than anything else, Michael has always wanted all of his brothers happy. After the war was over, surely Michael meant for him and Dean to love each other. Gabriel was just too skeptical.

When the flower was perfectly wrapped, Castiel hooked it underneath his arms and bowed quickly at Gabriel. "Tell our brothers that I'll be back very soon. No more than a month or so."

Gabriel stood from his place on the chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "Have fun, _brother_," said Gabriel, a hint of annoyance and… well, anger in his voice.

Castiel frowned; he didn't want his brother to be upset. He was by far his closest brother and when Gabriel did his traveling they often went together; why not invite him along? "You can come with me if you want. It'll be fun, you'll really like Dean, I think he'll appreciate your-"

"No Castiel, why would I want to spend my time with humans? I'm not you." With that said Gabriel was gone and Castiel was alone.

Not bothering to worry himself with his brother's passive-aggressiveness, Castiel fled to.

When Castiel arrived in Inim that evening, the first person he saw was Sam. The boy was shockingly by himself- no Dean in sight- and was lounging on a couch with a book inches away from his face; he was so fully engrossed that he didn't notice Castiel moving toward him. There were two guard angels stationed on either side of him; Castiel had known the two since his father sent them down to Mamot almost five hundred years ago. They were both fairly young compared to a lot of angels but they were good fighters and were very good at protecting. The oblivious boy was in good hands.

"Hello Sam," Castiel said as he approached the boy. He didn't look much older than last time he saw him, although he was obviously taller and wider he still looked like the little boy that he was two years ago.

Sam's greeting were no different than Dean's; he didn't hug or shake hands, he just waved and smiled in an impatient way that said that he wanted to get back to his book.

Castiel was eventually going to let him, but the strange disappearance of Dean was starting to concern him and he could not resist asking Sam where his friend was.

"Dean? Dad took him hunting today. They should be back soon," Sam said. "He'll be excited to see you."

Castiel did not question him any further; deciding that he did not want to know what they were hunting or how they hunting it. Instead, he decided to talk to one of the angels who guarded the castle gates until Dean returned. He knew this angel as well, though not as intimately as the ones who guarded Sam. Perhaps at one point he knew the angel, but it must have been so long ago that he forgot. And even from the way the man stood, Castiel could tell that he was very old and experienced.

The Angel was smiling at Castiel before he was even in front of him and when he did get there, he bowed low as if Castiel was a king. Their conversation was easy; the angel named Lucas was very entertaining and was apparently has always been a good friend with the Winchester Family. He assured Castiel that Dean, Sam and to some extent, John, were all doing fairly well for their situations. They were all preparing in their own ways for the impending war; even though Dean and Sam didn't necessarily know about it.

Lucas also mentioned that Dean was assigned a new bodyguard last year, one that he was personally training himself. Apparently they were very close.

Castiel ended the conversation there; yet again he didn't want to know any more details about Dean's new friendship. He didn't mean to be nervous, but he was supposed to be Dean's best friend, if Dean found a new one then where would that leave him?

It was at that moment that the horns blew announcing the arrival of the King and his party. Castiel stayed by the entrance and watched from afar the rather large brigade of humans riding back with red sunset beaming on their backs, illuminating them all; some were walking, trailing empty horses behind them… that meant that some people didn't make it. He scanned the horses with escalated fervor; he could feel Dean's warmth, he _could_ but he just had to be sure.

He saw John trailing in the front of the pack; his eyes for once weren't red and he looked focused. That was surely new since the majority of the time that Castiel saw John when he spent that year in Inim the man was heavily inebriated. To Castiel's relief, he was right beside the King as is custom for a Crown Prince whether they were supreme rulers like the Winchesters or were held over small providences. But he was not on his own horse; instead he rode behind another man.

His hands were gripped onto the man's waist while a very long gun hung on a sling on his back; his chin rested on the shoulder of the boy in front of him and he had the smallest of smiles on his face. The boy must have been the new bodyguard that Lucas told him about. He had dark skin and there was almost no hair present on his head, he was smiling at Dean too and saying something or another that Castiel did not feel like zeroing in on. He was going through way too much anxiety.

Did Dean replace him already?

While Castiel pondered the possibility he felt Dean's warmth coming closer and closer, before the entire brigade was so close that Castiel found it almost unbearable.

The group dismounted from their horses and they all walked into the castle one by one. None of them so much as turned to pay attention to Castiel or his friend, Lucas and simply walked by as if they were really that busy. Not that Castiel cared; all he wanted right now was Dean. No one else mattered.

Dean and his bodyguard lagged behind the rest of the group; they were bumping shoulders and laughing at something that Castiel yet again, did not want to bother himself with. When Dean was about to pass by without a second thought, Castiel walked up and gripped his shoulder. Dean jumped and turned with his hand already on his gun, but when he saw who it was the brightest of smiles lit up his face.

The ecstasy that ran through Castiel's body was monumental in its endlessness; he returned Dean's smile and bowed slightly.

"Dean, its-"

Dean's personal guard quickly maneuvered his way in front of him and whipped out his gun; it was large, shiny and very intimidating. Castiel raised an eyebrow and stared incredulously into the twin barrels of the gun and then back at the boy who held it in his face.

"I've never seen you around here! Who are you?" The boy asked with a warning tone of voice.

Castiel cleared his throat and looked at Dean for any kind of service. He didn't necessarily want to hurt the boy in front of him, but having a gun inches away from his chin was not the most comfortable position to be in.

Dean ran up to the boy and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Luke, this is Castiel, he's my friend and…" Dean lowered his voice in a harsh whisper. "He's an Angel so please get that gun out of his face."

With one last scrutinizing look, the boy- Luke- lowered his weapon and carefully placed it back in the sling on his back. He crossed his arm over his chest and wrinkled his nose, "Just so you know, you are never supposed to address the crown prince like that… as far as you're concerned his name is Your Highness."

Castiel cocked his head to the side and frowned. Did he not know that Castiel was Dean's betrothed? He _was _only a child and it wasn't like many people in Inim knew yet… Dean certainly didn't know.

"He doesn't have to do that, Luke. Cas is different, he's my best friend."

Luke's mouth opened in a silent 'o' and he seemed to let his entire vendetta go. He turned to Dean and a wry smile appeared on his face. "Oh, this is _that _Castiel."

Castiel watched as the smallest tinge of pink colored Dean's tan cheeks as the boy sheepishly kicked his feet on the marble floors of the palace. "Yes, it's _that_ Castiel. Now could you stop it and greet him like he's supposed to be greeted; he is a king after all."

Castiel did want to correct Dean when he claimed that he was a King, but he let it go. Instead he looked at the boy expectantly and offered him a small but sincere smile.

Luke returned his smile and reached his hand out to the angel in front of him. "Hi, my name's Luke. Good to see ya'."

Castiel shook his hand eagerly. He could admit he no longer felt threatened by Luke's friendship with Dean because even after all of these years Dean still called him 'Best Friend'. Castiel knew that he was being silly and surprisingly childish with his worries about Dean's everlasting friendship; but he was never close to anyone like he was to Dean, not since his brothers who were put on this earth to love him unconditionally. Dean was not; he could decide that he wanted a new best friend at any point. Castiel was just happy that it was he this time.

"Cas, I'm so happy to see you," Dean said. He took Castiel's hand into his own after Castiel finished with Luke's and shook it. "It's been so long. Did you see Sammy, yet?"

Castiel nodded but did not release Dean's hand. Like Sam, Dean did not look too different than he did two years ago. He was only a little bit taller and his hair was only a bit longer. But there were differences. Ever since his first time seeing Dean, Castiel has observed all of Dean: His eyes, his skin, his lips… everything. But, not during one of those observations has Castiel ever noted the bizarre scar on his chin, or the one on his arm or the bruise on his forehead.

"It's very good to see you Dean."

Dean smiled and then in very familiar manner, locked his arm up with Castiel's. "I have so much to tell you."

Castiel could not really listen to everything Dean was saying as they walked through the corridors; all he could think about was how easy it seemed walking arm and arm with Dean, as if they were companions. He hoped it would still be like this when Dean was older and they were married.

When they made it to Dean's destination, Castiel was shocked to see that they were back outside and in the stables. Castiel had always appreciated horses; they were one of the loveliest creatures that his father blessed Mamot with: their wide black eyes, their large frame, and the different colors, which were all as beautiful as the next. He knew that they were put here to become companions to the human race and Castiel could think of no other animal that would be as good of a match for them.

"That one's Lily, that one's Stallion, that one's Boyzoon, that one's Mercedes, that one's Camry and that's ones Caddy." There was about many horses, most of which Dean did not know the names of but all of which knew him. When they arrived to the very end of the stables Dean's face lit up with a strange and stressed excitement that confused and enamored Castiel.

Dean released Castiel's arm and ran quickly to the smallest stable. Castiel followed after him and Luke, he assumed, followed after him as well. As soon as they reached it, though, Castiel saw what got Dean so excited and he could not fight the small smile that tugged on his lips.

Dean was petting a baby horse on the head; it was as black as a demon's heart and as large as one too but Dean did was looking at it as if it was the most splendid thing in the entirety of Mamot.

"Cas, this is Impala. She's the best thing in the world," Dean boasted.

"Impala?" Not exactly a common name for a horse but, oh well, Castiel could barely begin to understand the irrationality that was Dean's mind.

"It's Dean's horse, it was just birthed a month ago from King Winchester's own horse," Luke informed him.

_Dean's horse… _

Castiel approached the obviously bowlegged horse and dropped to his knees beside Dean. It was truly a beautiful horse; Castiel knew that he could just be very biased because this horse was Dean's but it was beautiful. Just the perfect fit for his Dean.

"She's beautiful, Dean."

"I know, she's mine after all," Dean said.

Castiel was mildly shocked by the cockiness that dripped from Dean's voice but it was expected to come sooner or later; he was a prince after all.

"As soon as she grows up, she'll be my royal horse. I'll dress her up in gold and red and ride her around all day." Dean rambled.

"Of course you will," Castiel said dismissively.

Though the excitement of seeing Dean's horse for the first time was well… exciting, Castiel was weary of Dean speaking about anything in such a flowery and loving manner. That was supposed to be reserved for Sam… or him.

"Oh crap," Dean burst out. He jumped up from his spot on the ground and started to run out of the staple with endless trails of hay falling in his wake. He was almost out when he turned back around with a sheepish but still guilty smile on his face. "I'm sorry Cas. I have to do something real quick, I'll see you later."

Castiel wrinkled his eyebrows and turned to Luke, whose fingers were pinching the bridge of his nose while he released a long suffering sigh. "Oh my god..."

Castiel nodded, but continued to stare at the doorway that Dean had left in with the same amount of curiosity. "Do you know where he's going?"

Luke shook his head and sighed. "He's probably going off to do some tedious task that the advising council 'oh-so-kindly' pushed onto him," Luke said with the smallest bit of bitterness in his voice. "He's always late for something."

Castiel frowned and looked at the boy beside him, he sounded almost resentful. "Aren't you going to follow him, you are his personal guard after all."

Luke didn't comment on exactly how Castiel knew that he was Dean's personal guard, either Dean had mentioned it when he went on his rambling spree when Castiel wasn't listening or Luke thought it was some angel thing. Either way, Castiel was happy that he did not have to explain his conversation with another angel to a fourteen year old boy.

"Nah, Dean'll be fine, he's just walking around and running errands; way too boring for my style."

Castiel nodded and then smiled at the disgruntled Luke. "So, what do you suppose we do?"

Luke shrugged. "Spades?"


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Ice of Oblivion Chapter 7/24  
Fandom/Genre: SPN AU Romance, Drama, Action  
Pairing (s): Dean/Castiel  
Rating: T  
Word Count: ~82,000  
Warnings: Underage, Mild Sexual Situation, Violence

Summary: AU. _In a time of great tragedy in the lands of Mamot, the human race and the angel race are forced to form an unbreakable union that will bind them together for twenty seven lifetimes in order to stop the uprising of the demon race. In bargain they offer Castiel, one of the most powerful angels in the entire world to marry Dean Winchester, the young crown prince of the human world. The typically detached Castiel winds up falling in love with the Prince. The only problem is his brothers don't expect Dean to live through the war. Will Castiel stay and support the man he loves despite the heartbreak that might accompany his passing or will he fall back in line with his brothers, becoming numb to all human emotions once more?_

**Chapter 7**

Castiel's time spent with Luke was interesting at the least and eye-opening at the very most.

Luke taught Castiel how to play Spades, Hearts and -Dean's favorite- Poker. Castiel never really got the grips of the game and ended up losing several times to Luke further damaging the superior ego that he had when it concerned Dean's new friend. But as the evening wore on Castiel did develop affection for the child.

He was easy to speak to, smart and intelligent, he cracked jokes that Castiel could actually understand and he was truly loyal to the King's rule. He could see how the boy was a good match for Dean too; they had similar natures and have apparently been best friends for two years now and did not plan on stopping, Dean had even managed to convince his father to let him finish training Luke so that he could be the "perfect" personal guard. Although Luke assured them that the majority of their time together was not spent training; mostly they played cards and wrestled like children.

After allowing the boy to get some rest, Castiel told the John and all of his advisors that he was here to stay for another couple of months, assuring them that if they needed anything he was here to help. Apparently, at the time Castiel was completely useless.

Before he dismissed himself, John had given him one of his tender looks. It rarely happened, but whenever John was out and about and happened to come across Castiel with Dean he would give Castiel this look. It almost seemed like he was saying 'thank you', but for what? Castiel was never sure.

"Just spend some time with Dean while you're here," John said. "He'll like that."

Castiel, for the first time since he met the man, smiled at him and then left.

The next day he went to Dean's room at the dawn of the sun's rise and found his bed empty. It wasn't too shocking- Luke had in fact informed him of how early Dean usually rose in the morning- and so Castiel went on a full-on Dean Hunt.

First he went to the kitchens, where he met the two heads of the kitchen staff Audrey and Lulu. They started to bow at his feet when they saw him but Castiel waved them up in embarrassment; humans thought so low of themselves, it was kind of sad. They were his Father's creation after all.

When he asked them about Dean they both looked a little bashful and at the same time happy at the mention of their crown prince. Castiel could not help but feel a little proud at how respected the eleven year old Dean was already amongst his future subjects; he_ would _make a good King one day.

"Oh, Prince Dean? He was just here making the meal plans with us for the next week."

"Meal plans?" Castiel's eyebrows wrinkled; that wasn't Dean's job, he was the prince after all they should have someone else worrying about such things. "That's a queen's job."

"We have no queen, sir."

Castiel scowled and clenched his fists behind his back. "Then someone else should have volunteered."

"The Prince volunteered after our last Head Kitchen Maid died of fever, sir. We wouldn't have him do this if he didn't want to."

Castiel felt like throttling Dean; didn't he think that he already had enough to do. Now he was taking on job that really had nothing to do with him. He was supposed to eat the meals that were presented in front of him; not plan them.

"Do you-"

"Would you like to see it, sir?" Lulu interrupted with a smile.

Audrey hit her on the arm and pulled her back. "Do you know who you're speaking to?"

Lulu's eyes widened and she took a couple of steps back with her eyes downcast. "I'm sorry, sir."

Once again, these humans were looking at themselves as if they were lowly, worthless bags of flesh. And once again, Castiel felt the smallest hint of guilt. "I wouldn't mind having a look at what Dean did; he needs proper guidance sometimes, don't you think?"

Their eyes danced with amusement, but they didn't laugh. Audrey bumbled over to the top of the stove area and removed a small piece of paper that was already covered in flour. She shyly handed it to the slightly disgruntled angel before stepping away just as quickly.

Castiel scanned the page and noted that it was actually neatly done, if he saw it without knowing that Dean had a hand in it he would have thought a Head Kitchen maid had done it. Chicken Broth and a very light salad, followed by a very small service of chicken and wine (or juice) and then a serving of fresh fish with dinner rolls and corn; that was just for tonight. It was so unlike Dean…

"Did you see the corner?"

Castiel suppressed a smile, maybe this was more like Dean after all. _Bake a cupcake for Sammy; he's been wanting one for days! Thank you! _Castiel handed the paper back to his the women and wrapped his fingers behind his back.

"Do you have any idea where he went?"

Lulu smiled and nodded. "Yes, he went to an early morning meeting with the advisors."

"You better hurry; they don't tend to last long, sir."

Castiel nodded and with a quick thank you, he left the room on his way to the Great Hall. The walk was quick and on walking into the Great Hall, Castiel realized that once again Dean was nowhere to be found. There was only one advisor left, Bobby Singer, and it seemed the rest had poured out of the room after what appeared to be a very quick meeting.

When Bobby saw Castiel, he didn't smile, like most people probably would after seeing one of the most famous angels on the face of Mamot. He looked at Castiel critically and a little annoyed.

"Hello, Mr. Singer," Castiel said.

"Castiel…" Bobby said with the smallest of nods.

Deciding not to make any small talk like he almost did with the kitchen maids, Castiel got right to the point. "Do you know where Dean went? I've been looking for him for a while."

Bobby got an angry grimace on his face and with a small sneer he answered, "He went off with that useless father of his."

Castiel pouted and cocked his head to the side; over the years that he's observed Bobby and the other advisors private treatment and scolding of John and all of his methods of being King. But he'd never heard someone speak so openly about their disdain for someone above their station. This Bobby Singer was a strange one.

"Do you think it's wise to talk about your King that way?"

Bobby's jaw tightened and he shook his head hastily. "Your damn right I do. That man hasn't so much as lifted a finger in his job; the only time that bastard even puts out a little effort is when we go hunting. Selfish idgit."

Castiel frowned; poor John, what was wrong with him? "I'm sure he's doing something, after all he bothered to show up at the break of dawn just to attend this meeting."

"Nah," Bobby started with an exasperated sigh. "Your boy Dean had to drag his hung-over ass all the way here."

Castiel wanted to ask more questions and dwell on John's obvious troubles and displeasures with his life. But he couldn't bring himself to do it; he didn't know why he couldn't. Maybe he felt like he was too busy, or maybe he knew that John was pass helping and the only way he could even begin to make it better was if he spent time with Dean and helped him into his next transition of life. John knows that he can't do it, not anymore. It was all up to Castiel.

"So, did Dean help him back up into his room?"

Bobby hadn't heard him, or maybe he had heard but he didn't feel like listening to what the angel had to say so he ignored it. Either way, he kept on mumbling deprecating things about his King and apparent friend without end.

"Damn bastard, leaving all of his work to us. Doesn't he know we have lives outside of this godforsaken place? It ain't my fault that the only life he has outside of this damn hall is at the bottom of a bottle or in the barrel of a gun." Bobby-finally noticing that he was going off on a tangent- looked at Castiel and nodded toward the door. "He should be up in his dad's room, if not I don't know."

Castiel nodded and went off again. He knew that there was probably an easier way to do this. After all, he was an angel. And seeing as he is an angel, there had to be tons of other things he could be doing right now that would be much more useful and entertaining than looking for an eleven year old prepubescent boy…

Within minutes, Castiel was a few feet away from John Winchesters quarters and being stopped by two outstretched arms belonging to two human guards.

"We're sorry sir, you can't come inside. The King is resting."

Castiel felt ready to burst! If John was sleeping than the chances of Dean sticking around to watch was… well there was no chance. Sighing, Castiel massaged his temple and asked, "Do you know where the Crown Prince is?"

One of the guards tapped his chin, looking confused. After a couple of seconds, the guard raised his finger and released a short 'ah'. "He's in his room."

Castiel nodded; though he'd just been there, there was still a possibility that Dean had gone back maybe for a late nap before he had to finish whatever other endless duties he had to take care of. Castiel snaked away from the two and ran to Dean's room. Instead of Dean, Castiel saw the youngest Winchester brother sitting with his back on Dean's door and a book on his lap. There were two attentive but completely still guards on both sides of him and the boy seemed to be dozing.

"Sam!"

Sam spiked up with his hand on top of his head while his book slipped off of his lap. "Wha-" Sam's eyes scanned the area with rapid firing eyes, so rapid that Castiel would think Sam was a becoming a hunter himself: agile, observant and vigilant.

"Castiel… what are you doing up so early."

In his half-sleeping state Sam must have forgotten that angels don't sleep like humans do so Castiel did not call him on it. He only smiled and helped Sam onto his feet; he was definitely heavier, not that Castiel noticed what with his differential threshold being so large. In order to notice differences in most things, especially weight he had to pay extra close attention.

"Thanks…" Sam mumbled as he reached down for his book; picking it up, he scanned the hallway with a bit of apprehension on his face. "Hey, where'd Dean go?"

Castiel glanced down and wrinkled his eyebrows, how did Sam know what Castiel was looking for already? _Interesting… _

"I've actually come to ask you the same question. Have you seen him at all this morning?"

Sam nodded. "He woke me up for classes and got me breakfast before going off on his meeting." Sam yawned loud and ferocious like a lion and then he passed a glance at the door he'd just been sleeping on. "I thought I'd take a nap before he got back, he got back like… umm… before… and he woke me up once."

"Why were you still sleeping then?

Sam pouted and with a sharp roll of his eyes, he spoke, "Dean probably left when he thought I was awake… he usually stays longer to see me off, but… well, he's so busy."

Seeing the irritation and dejection on Sam Winchester's face, Castiel frowned. Taking pity on the brother of his betrothed, Castiel reached his hand out to him and nodded toward the halls. "Well, I can walk you to class if you don't mind, Sam."

Sam grinned, but instead of taking Castiel's hand he shook his head and pushed it away with his palm. "No thank you I can get there just fine… besides, I like it when Dean takes me."

Castiel nodded, feeling only slightly annoyed that Sam didn't take his hand. When Sam was preparing to walk away, though, Castiel suddenly remembered why he was there in the first place and stopped him. "Do you have any idea where Dean may be right now?"

Sam shrugged one of the saddest shrugs that Castiel had ever seen and turned away. His books were pressed tight against his chest and his head was sunk lower than the heaviest of rocks in the lightest of oceans but even without those indications, Castiel would have been able to see Sam's clenched shoulder and knew that he was upset.

And to be honest, Castiel was starting to feel just as gloomy as Sam was. He came to Inim to see Dean after two years of barely having the time to drop a line. And now for the first time, Dean barely has the time for him. He didn't like that very much. Every other time he'd come here to Inim, Dean made time for him and typically only spread his attention to Sam or his father. Now he had all of these new distractions ranging from duties that belonged to his father and the one's that originally belonged to his mother. He barely had time for Sam anymore…

"Cas!"

Castiel turned to his right to see Dean bounding toward him from the same hallway Sam had gone down. Containing his relief at seeing that Dean hadn't forgotten about him was easy, but the constant tugging on his lips was so irritating that he let it out anyways.

"Dean, I've been looking for you." 

Dean was beaming when he approached Castiel and his relief was almost as obvious as Castiel's. "I was looking for you too…" Dean said happily. "I was wondering whether or not you wanted to come help me with some stuff."

"Of course, Dean." Castiel said without thinking.

Dean exhaled and walked toward Castiel, laced their arms together and started walking toward the same hallway he'd come out of. "I have so much stuff to do!"

Castiel nodded. He was more than happy to help Dean, besides he was an angel. He was inhumanely strong and he could technically fly – although that was irrelevant because his flying was much too quick for human eyes to keep up.

"I should have finished all of this last night, but I was so tired that I just had to go to sleep," Dean complained wantonly as they walked back toward a small room that Castiel very rarely noticed but was still being guarded by about two angels at once.

As they passed, Castiel nodded at them both and Dean smiled and waved, greeting them by name. They walked into the small room and what Castiel saw actually made his eyes water.

The room was practically empty, aside from a very hefty and long desk that sat in the very middle of the room. It was black and was slowly chipping away at all angles and ends but it had to be sturdy in order to support the thousands of papers that were stacked seemingly endlessly on top of it.

What in God's name did they want Dean to do with all of those?

"They're mission statements," Dean said matter-of-factly. "People from all over Inim reporting demon outbreaks and sightings in our lands."

"So?"

Dean chuckled lightly. "So, we're going to have to sort them by severity and quantity of demons reported. Do you get it?"

Castiel nodded and they went to work. Castiel could say for sure that what he was doing was the most mind-numbing, dreary, tiresome job that any one person could get stuck with and Castiel typically liked everything boring. His brothers teased him all the time about his boring habits of over reading and over researching. But this, what he was doing today and what Dean apparently does every day, it was too much to handle.

Castiel found himself losing focus quickly and whatever concentration he had left starting shifting to other things that were in no way as important as demon infestations but were far more interesting then sorting through paper work about them.

Dean, on the other hand, waded through the endless papers as if it was all second nature for him. He whistled and hummed, scribbled and scrabbled, shivered and, best of all, smiled. Sometimes when Castiel found himself losing focus he just stared at Dean while he was doing his work, mesmerized by the young man and the ease that he handled so many newfound responsibilities.

After a couple of hours, Luke came in to join them and spent the whole hour or so that he was there griping, just as Castiel was doing in his head. Dean just smiled at him and cracked jokes to lighten the mood and it surprisingly helped. Dean and Luke traded good-natured barbs for hours and the rest of the time seemed to go by quickly.

When they were finished, Dean seemed to be a bit on edge. As they cleaned up he continued stopping and biting his nails as if he was thinking about something. When they got everything packed up and ready to give to the advisors, Dean nearly dropped his stack when he finally realized what it was he was forgetting.

He launched himself out of the room so quickly that Castiel and Luke ended up staring at the spot he was in wondering whether or not he ran or simply disappeared before they followed him out of the room.

They chased after him – although it was more of following then chasing because as Crown Prince, Dean was not allowed to run, just walk really fast – until they made it outside to the field where Sam and a group of small children were gathering their toys and starting to go home.

"Sam," Dean shouted, jogging closer to his little brother.

The look that Sam gave Dean was a scary, especially coming from a younger brother. Luke and Castiel kept a small distance from the brothers; but both watched with two different expressions, Luke was a bit annoyed and Castiel was confused.

"Where were you?" Sam tone was accusatory and Dean immediately recoiled and frowned, ashamed.

"I was – I was real busy."

Sam pursed his lips as he wrapped his art equipment up in a sheet with fat tears in his eyes that refused to fall. Dean remained quiet with the guiltiest expression on his face; Castiel didn't want him to feel guilty, it wasn't his fault that he was so busy. He was the _crown_ prince after all.

"You _promised_ you would paint with me and my friends today," Sam said, stressing the word 'promised'.

"I know I did. I just…" Dean trailed off.

"You always do this," Sam snapped.

"I know."

"You always make promises but you never follow through,"

"I know."

Sam was starting to look angrier and angrier, especially with Dean's lack of explanation.

"So, what? Do you have any excuses like always?"

Dean looked at Luke and Castiel really quickly before looking back at Sam and shaking his head. "No."

Sam rolled his eyes and stomped past Dean with his art supplies underneath his arm.

"I'm so sorry…" Dean murmured at Sam's retreating form.

Castiel approached Dean cautiously; he knew how much Sam meant to Dean. "Dean-"

Dean interrupted him. "I've got to go – umm – do something."

Castiel did not see Dean until dinner that night; he still looked depressed and Sam still looked slightly annoyed. John was missing but a lot of the children and advisors showed up. They spent the majority of their time in silence. The only time Castiel saw Dean pep up was when one of the cooks brought out Sam's cupcake, but the boy denied it almost immediately and Dean was down again.

It pained Castiel to see Dean so upset. He never saw him so low before and unfortunately; it was having an effect on Castiel too. That warm light that Dean always seemed to emit was stifling and tilting in all directions. It was making him difficult to be around. He knew that it was likely that they would make up soon, but he could not, with good conscious, allow something like that to happen again. They could not go on fighting that way. They were brothers and Castiel knew all about brothers. There were times when his brothers fought. Once Uriel and Zachariah didn't speak for one hundred and twenty seven years because of a particularly rowdy fight and then of course, the biggest fight of all between Michael and Lucifer was the reason Castiel was even at the Winchester's Castle.

He knew how these things could escalate; he refused to allow the brother's to resent one another.

He sought out Sam when night came and found the young boy in the library reading a large book. The boy noticed him immediately after he came in and rolled his eyes.

"Hi Castiel."

"Hello Sam, I would like to speak to you," Castiel said. Sam looked at him, still very annoyed. "May I?"

Sam shrugged.

Castiel nodded. "I wish to address your conversation with Dean this afternoon."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Yes, but I do."

Sam shook his head and his eyes fell back into his book.

"I completely understand how you feel Sam."

Sam's ear's perked and he looked at Castiel slowly, calculating.

"You just want your brother's attention."

Sam scoffed and shook his head. "No I don't," He huffed.

"Sam, I've watched the two of you for years now," Castiel said, ignoring the small boy. "I know how much Dean cares about you, he made a mistake today. He lost track of time -"

Sam's stressed face almost burst as he flung his tiny body out of his seat. "But, you don't see. Dean's always losing track of time, you're just not here to see it!"

Castiel tightened his lips and glanced down to the floor. "I know, Sam. I know…"

Sam rolled his eyes and plopped back down in his chair. "You sound just like him."

Castiel smiled and, walking closer to Sam, placed his hand on his shoulder. "Sam, I know you're used to having your brother all to yourself. But, Dean is older than you and he's going to be someone really important when he gets older."

"I know…"

"Good," Castiel said, satisfied. He was about to leave then, his job done but was stopped by a small squeaky voice.

"But, Dean's my big brother. He was my big brother before he was Prince," Sam said regretfully. "It hurts me when he's always busy all the time; he's always with dad or with Luke or with you. He never has time for me."

Castiel frowned. He understood that; he really had not seen Dean spending time with Sam since he got there and Sam always knew where his brother was. It was sad and for the first time since that night six years ago, Castiel felt horrible for the small child in front of him.

"Well, Dean's alone now."

Sam looked at Castiel, shocked and Castiel almost cringed when he realized that that probably was not a frequent occurrence. "Really?"

The smiles that lit up the boys faces when they saw each other was definitely worth the time that Castiel spent _away _from Dean.


	8. Chapter 8

Title: Ice of Oblivion Chapter 8/24  
Fandom/Genre: SPN AU Romance, Drama, Action  
Pairing (s): Dean/Castiel  
Rating: T  
Word Count: ~82,000  
Warnings: Underage, Mild Sexual Situation, Violence

Summary: AU. _In a time of great tragedy in the lands of Mamot, the human race and the angel race are forced to form an unbreakable union that will bind them together for twenty seven lifetimes in order to stop the uprising of the demon race. In bargain they offer Castiel, one of the most powerful angels in the entire world to marry Dean Winchester, the young crown prince of the human world. The typically detached Castiel winds up falling in love with the Prince. The only problem is his brothers don't expect Dean to live through the war. Will Castiel stay and support the man he loves despite the heartbreak that might accompany his passing or will he fall back in line with his brothers, becoming numb to all human emotions once more?_

_

* * *

_

**Chapter 8**

Castiel's next visit with Inim's royal family was different to say the least. He arrived on the eve of Dean's thirteenth birthday and decided this time to actually use the warmth that Dean emitted to find him except for going on wild goose chases like he did less than two years before. His entrance into the castle was trouble-free as usual, everyone knew who he was either from Dean's mouth, Luke's mouth or simply knowing what one of the five brothers of Engels looked like.

He tracked Dean down in his room. After he knocked he barely had to wait five seconds before Dean snatched open the door with a smile on his face. Only the smile wasn't for him- Castiel had no idea who it really was for- and it immediately dropped when Dean laid his eyes on the angel.

A sharp pang attacked Castiel's gut, one that he never felt before and would prefer to never feel again.

"Cas…" Dean's cheeks turned a very bright shade of red and he dropped his gaze to his shuffling feet.

"Hello Dean…"

For an agonizing two minutes, neither friend said a word. Dean was still facing the floor while he leaned one hand on the door sill, his cheeks only getting pinker and Castiel stood there with his hands clasped in front of him very confused and very afraid of Dean's behavior toward him. He could already feel his newfound neurosis starting to rear its ugly head; why was Dean being so indifferent? As if they weren't friends? As if Castiel was Dean's unfair, brutal and expectant school teacher? Castiel exhaled sharply, trying to decipher Dean's behavior was an impossible feat as a thirteen year old boy.

How was he ever going to manage it when they got married? **No! **_If_ they got married… at this point everything seemed up in the air.

"Dean, are you okay?" Castiel asked, finally mustering up the courage to stop dancing around the issue.

Dean's eyes darted to Castiel at the sound of his voice and a huge but obviously fake smile overtook his face. "I'm fine Cas," he approached his friend with his arm extended. "It's so nice to see you."

Castiel took his hand and shook it. Dean's grip was weak and eager- to let go- so Castiel released his hand quickly and tried his hardest to seem happy even though it pained him on the inside.

"Happy almost birthday, Dean."

Dean huffed out a short laugh and seemed to relax. The weight in Castiel's stomach relieved itself and his smile became sincere. The tension was finally over. But, what still confused Castiel was what caused it in the first place.

* * *

Castiel and Dean spent the rest of the day running around doing errands and greeting people who came to Inim's Grand Castle to attend the birthday dinner of the prince. The vast majorities of them were excited to see Castiel there and went on very long tangents without once mentioning the reason why they were there in the first place.

After the greeting was over, Castiel checked with Dean to make sure he wasn't too upset with people forgetting his birthday in order to ask Castiel questions that were either none of their business or things they could have found out themselves.

"Nah, I'm over this birthday stuff already. I just want to go to bed."

Unfortunately for Dean, he didn't get much sleep that night. People were pouring in at all hours of the day and Castiel stayed up with Dean throughout it all, as did John Winchester… to everyone's surprise. They shook hands, exchanged pleasantries and told them where they were sleeping. It got repetitive after a while, but Castiel was happy.

Dean didn't act in that strange closed off way at all during the endless hours of standing up and acted like his old friendly self; although, in a mature and witty way rather than the way that would be expected of someone so young. Castiel saw that Dean definitely a lot from the day he'd first met him. Though the changes were much more prominent than expected of someone so young- almost as if he went from a healthy but damaged four year old boy to a mature but still fairly damaged thirty year old man, only he was twelve.

It still delighted Castiel whenever he saw Dean do something even remotely childish, like make faces at people when they turn away from him or laugh at things that are actually funny. The night dragged on slowly and before Castiel knew it he was walking Dean back to his bedroom and saying goodnight and happy birthday. Then Dean is the strangest thing…

He laughed actually laughed, not like an amused or even hysterical one. It was nervous and shy, two things that Castiel never associated with Dean. He shuffled away to his door, still laughing nervously until he looked up and saw his friend looking at him. His face turned beet red and his green eyes shifted to the ground.

"Bye Cas!" He ran into his room and slammed the door with an audible bang while Castiel stood there staring dumbly at it. Cocking his head to the side, Castiel turned away and walked to his quarters, confused.

* * *

The next day, Castiel did not see Dean at all. He went searching for him but he had the most bizarre feeling that the boy was avoiding him. Everywhere he went people told him that Dean was there but he raced off without warning. It was a bit nerve wracking but he dealt with it because he knew that Dean would have to be present for his birthday dinner that night and then he would force him to talk to him.

The dinner came quickly and Dean was very late but because of Castiel's important placement at the table he ended up directly across from him.

Dean sent him one shy smile before spending the rest of his time staring at his plate and occasionally laughing with Sam.

Castiel, for the most part, opted to ignore whatever the humans said to him and instead watched the teenage boy with stark fascination. He'd grown a lot since the last time Castiel was there. No longer was he the same gangly little boy; he was turning into a little adult… a young one, but an adult nonetheless. He wished he understood why Dean was treating him the way that he was. It was disconcerting.

He did understand that at Dean's age they often pulled away from people close to them. But, that was behavior was usually reserved for their parents, not their best friends.

Castiel's eyes widened. What if Dean saw him as a parent? What would that mean for their marriage? They won't ever love each other mutually; they'd simply exist together as children and their parents often do. Dean would resent him for the rest of his life…

"May I have your attention, please?"

John Winchester stood from his place at the head of the table with a glass of wine in his hands. His eyes weren't red and a small smile was lighting his face. He glanced down to Dean and Sam with the most well-hidden but amazingly obvious pride in his eyes.

"Today is my son's 13th birthday as you all already know. The things that he's accomplished and the person that he has become only eludes to the wonderful King he will become." There were various murmurs of agreement throughout the room and though Castiel knew that anyone in the world would say the same thing to please their King he could tell that they weren't lying.

"Thank you all for showing up here today and for every other day you were here and will be here. From the tragedies that my boys had to witness we can all see what amazing boys they have become as a result." The smallest hint of pain crossed John's face, pain that Castiel was sure no one else noticed. He leaned over toward Dean, who was seated directly to his right and motioned for a server to approach him.

The young girl approached him with a bottle of what Castiel could only assume was red wine and placed it into his hands. John uncorked the bottle and Castiel nearly jumped at the outflow of cheers from the people around the table; he poured the wine into the glass cup in front of his son and leaned up waiting for him to drink it.

Dean looked down at the glass of wine with eyes as wide as Castiel's were. He looked at his Castiel with the most helpless look in his eyes before frowning and taking the glass in his hand. Castiel watched the sight of his betrothed getting introduced to alcohol for the first time but didn't speak up; he had no right. This was business between father and son; Castiel knew a lot about that.

* * *

Later that night, Castiel found himself in the royal bathroom (a place that he'd never found a use for before) rubbing Dean's back as he vomited openly into a hole and Castiel never felt so bad; he watched Dean force down various glasses of red wine with obvious discomfort on his face and when the dinner was over Castiel followed him back to make sure that Dean was alright and he found him vomiting. He wished he'd said something to stop it. But he knew what thirteenth birthdays meant for humans; it was a stiff and partial way to move into adulthood.

Castiel sighed when Dean sounded like he was finished and he pulled the boy back onto his feet. He guided him toward the water basin and allowed him to pour water on his face.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

Dean nodded but didn't speak. He continued to splash sprinkles of water on his own face and gurgling some of it to get the remainder of his bile from his mouth. When he was finished and turned to Castiel with the most miserable expression on his face; Castiel wanted to hold him like the child that he was but decided against it; with the strange way that Dean was acting he'd probably get pushed off anyway.

"Do you need anything?"

Dean turned to him with the strangest gleam in his green eyes; he still looked dazed and drunk. He opened his mouth to speak but hiccupped and turned away sharply.

Castiel frowned and placed his hand on Dean's shoulder. "Dean you can tell me anything, whatever you're feeling right now."

Dean stood up from the water basin and walked closer to the door. "Anything?"

"Of course."

Dean whipped around, stumbling only slightly but enough to get Castiel jumping up and bounding toward the young man. He placed his hands on Dean's shoulders to steady him.

"Dean! Are you okay?"

"Will you kiss me?"

Castiel recoiled, shocked by the statement. Kiss Dean? On the lips? It was an interesting thought but an impossible one, all the same. Of course, Castiel was not afraid… well, not that afraid. He never kissed anyone before and actually sharing something like that with his future husband would be sensational. But, sullying Dean's already shaky innocence was something he could never do, not before they were married both in spirit and by law.

"No." What else could he say?

Dean flinched backward and looked at Castiel as if he'd been slapped. The angel felt his soul sinking unpleasantly when the smallest glimmer of tears shimmered in Dean's wide green eyes. He started to apologize but Dean quickly wiped his eyes and ran out of the room, leaving the angel alone for the first time regretting his bluntness.

* * *

Castiel didn't see Dean for two days after that incident. The boy cleverly avoided him and sometimes even went as far as to hide when Castiel entered a room. It was disconcerting but without the constant distraction of Dean around Castiel finally found time to get work done concerning all of the angels and humans in Inim. He had been very busy going through paper work in his guest room when a very agitated little person burst into his room with his hands on his hips and the most threatening annoyed face.

"Just where do you get off saying no to my brother," Sam snapped as he stomped into the room.

Castiel's eyes snapped up and a deep frown turned his face. "Sam, you know it's rude to barge into a guests room, right?"

Sam scowled. "You're not a guest, you're supposed to be my brother's guardian… but not anymore!"

Castiel frowned; of course, he's denied Dean but he still reserved the right to choose whether or not he was his guardian. "Alright… Sam, why are you here?"

"Because you hurt my brother, Dean's been in his room all day moping, I think he might have even been crying," Sam said angrily, with a bit of sadness too.

Castiel almost gasped. Dean was crying. Why would he cry, it was just a kiss after all.

"I don't understand-"

"He's in love with you!"

Castiel frowned and cocked his head to the side. That didn't really make sense. "Dean's just a child, he's not in love with anyone."

"But you don't understand, you said you didn't! Dean loves you a lot, he just wants you to love him too."

Castiel shook his head. "Of course I love Dean, he's my friend. But, he's just a child, it's impossible to be in love with a child."

Sam sighed exaggeratedly and stomped out of the room, all the while yelling, "Just fix it!"

Castiel rolled his eyes; Sam didn't know what he was talking about but he was right. He needed to fix it, especially now that Dean was so dead. He was sad…

He could not imagine what a blow to one's self-esteem it must be to be denied a kiss from one's true friend. He couldn't imagine it, especially for one so young. Then he thought about their engagement. When Dean was one day told that they were engaged how would he feel knowing that he was denied a kiss by his own betrothed? Then he thought about Dean sharing his first kiss with someone else. Some human or perhaps another angel. He didn't want Dean too relinquish his gift to anyone else but him…

Then he thought about how it would feel kissing Dean. All warm pink lips and wide green eyes…

He knew what he had to do.

* * *

Castiel found Dean in his room sitting on his bed drawing with his back turned toward him. He approached Dean cautiously he made sure to be extra quiet so that Dean would not see him and evade him. When he was a couple of feet away and Dean still had not heard him, he placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Hello Dean," Castiel said slowly.

Dean jolted up, throwing Castiel's hand off of his shoulder and looking at him with wide eyes. When he saw who it was his eyes fell to the ground and he frowned. "Cas… hi."

Castiel got on his knees so that he was almost nose level with Dean, placing his hand on the side of Dean's cheek he looked him deep in his green eyes. Dean blushed and tried to shuffle away but appeared too distraught to shake Castiel's grasp, instead he tore his gaze away and looked at the red carpets under his feet.

"Why have you been avoiding me?"

Dean sucked in his lips and shook his head. " 'm sorry…"

"There's no need to apologize. I understand you perfectly now…" Castiel ran his hand down Dean's cheek and gripped his chin, catching the boy's eyes once again. "Kiss me Dean."

Dean's eyes widened and his mouth fell open as if he was about to speak but decided not to. "Really?"

Castiel nodded. "…please…"

After a bit of hesitance, Dean's face broke into the biggest brightest smile that Castiel ever saw on his face and he could not fight his small smile either. Although this whole thing was exceedingly inappropriate there was so much joy filling up his soul from having been responsible for making Dean so happy.

Dean nervously placed his hands on Castiel's shoulder and stared into his eyes with the most delightful mixture of happiness, nervousness and doubt. Castiel smiled at him reassuringly and egged him in by placing his hand on the back of Dean's neck and pulling him a bit closer. He could feel Dean's warm breath ghosting over his lips and the heat radiating from his moist lips; he didn't know where it was coming from, but somewhere deep inside of him he knew that he was about to experience something fantastic. Dean leaned in slowly and meshed his lips with Castiel's in a quick motion.

It was gentle and impossibly quick; in fact when Dean pulled away Castiel was not sure whether or not Dean had actually kissed him. But, he knew he did. The lingering taste of him still sat heavy on Castiel's dry bottom lip and he could still feel Dean's heat except it was now wafting off of his lips alone. It wasn't too much to fuss about, but that was probably because Dean was so young.

Castiel smiled at Dean when he noticed the boy was looking at him for some kind of confirmation and ran his hand down Dean's neck until he was gripping his arm.

Dean huffed out a nervous laugh and then another before looking down at his toes with a beet red face. Castiel almost laughed at how adorable he looked, but he decided against it. Not wanting to make Dean anymore uncomfortable than he already was. When Dean looked back at his friend he was smiling again, only this time it was smaller and more controlled than the other ones. The smile of a king who'd just cut a deal that would change his nation… strange.

"Thanks Cas."

Castiel nodded and waved a hand then stood up from his place on the floor. "Are you hungry?"

Dean nodded, still staring at him with a small grin.

Castiel started to walk out of the room and then turned and said, "Let's go eat."

Dean nodded again and slowly followed him out of the room. Castiel suppressed a sigh; he'd probably made the entire crush situation worse. But, he could feel Dean's insides radiating even more warmth than before practically filling Castiel up with fuzziness. Then he looked back Dean's wide smile and red face and he knew it was worth it.


	9. Chapter 9

Title: Ice of Oblivion Chapter 9/24  
Fandom/Genre: SPN AU Romance, Drama, Action  
Pairing (s): Dean/Castiel  
Rating: T  
Word Count: ~82,000  
Warnings: Underage, Mild Sexual Situation, Violence

* * *

**Chapter 9**

Hunting. Castiel stood in the castle's armory eyeing the gun that Bobby Singer gave to him a few minutes ago after Dean invited him to one of their hunting trips. He'd never gone hunting before because he never saw the use of killing harmless animals although the relevance of it was getting more important now that the human's began hunting for demons. He, of course, knew how to use one seeing as he'd been studying them since the humans created them about one thousand years ago when they needed protection against the demon species.

But, he never saw the need to use one. And unfortunately he didn't see a use for it today either. He was an angel after all; designed to fend off every other species in the world.

Placing the gun in his pocket, Castiel started to leave the room before he was interrupted by a very familiar voice.

"Castiel, Castiel, Castiel… humanized already I see."

"Gabriel…" Castiel said without turning around. And sure enough, there he was with his arms crossed over his chest and a small frown on his face; he was shaking his head and smacking his lips. "What are you doing here?"

"Guns Castiel? Really, are you really that pathetic?"

Castiel frowned and jolted back as if he'd been slapped. "That's a little harsh, don't you think?"

Gabriel shook his head and approached his brother with a small smirk replacing his frown. "Yes," Gabriel said slyly. "But that's not the point-"

"What _is_ the point?" Castiel interrupted his brother- for the first time in his life.

Gabriel chuckled. "I see you've got a little hunting trip planned today," He said, completely changing to subject in one of his obviously impulsive and inappropriate segways.

Castiel decided to indulge him for a while; buying into his antics was always the best way to get whatever information you wanted out of him. And right now, Castiel would have really liked to know what his brother was doing there. Not once in the past nine years of Castiel running back and forth there did Gabriel or any of his brothers bother to visit; not to see Castiel and especially not to see their very own champion, Dean.

Seeing Gabriel here was… well it was a surprise and it had to have a purpose.

"I was invited to one, yes…"

"Whatever happened to your oath not to harm another creature? Besides you don't even eat lion."

Castiel shivered at the mention of eating something as carnivorous and grotesque as a lion and then shook his head. "We're not hunting animals, we're hunting demons."

"Ah, so they've upped the ante a bit. Roasted demon… sounds appetizing."

Castiel rolled his eyes and started to walk out of the room but in front of him appeared his brother; his palm twisting the door knob. He almost sighed with frustration but stopped himself when he remembered his brother's attitude when it came to things like that. "Was there something you wanted?"

Gabriel shrugged with pouted lips. "Nothing much, I just wanted to know how your courting was going."

He was truly confused; whom was he supposed to be courting. He was just visiting the people who would one day be his family. "Courting?"

"Courting Dean, you know buttering up your little child-groom," Gabriel mocked.

Castiel rolled his eyes and started to push past Gabriel, but his brother was relentless.

"I heard you guys have been taking long walks in the gardens, sneaking off to the restrooms together and even sharing a couple of kisses now and then."

Castiel could have strangled Gabriel for his rash comments but he controlled himself simply because he technically did kiss Dean. "You're sick ."

Gabriel huffed out a short chuckle. "Thank you," He said.

Castiel tried to push past his brother again but he was stopped when Gabriel placed his hand on his chest, pushing him back. In the strangest instant the amused look in Gabriel's eyes melted away to a rash seriousness.

"Listen, Castiel I'm just trying to give you some advice."

"About what?"

"Your relationship with your betrothed."

Castiel rolled his eyes, now very irritated with his brother's newfound interest with his relationship with Dean. "I'm not interested in any advice of yours, brother."

He stalked away in the opposite direction until he was inches away from the wall of human weapons.

The selection varied and, to Castiel's delight, it was almost a chart of the human's progression when it came to weaponry. There were the clubs at the farthest end, swords and maces in the middle and their most recent was of course, guns. They were truly works of art and did serve as a good distraction from Gabriel's foolishness.

He tensed when he felt Gabriel's hand on his shoulder then shrugged it off and with a bored look turned around to face his brother. "What?"

Gabriel's lips twitched in what Castiel could only interpret as satisfaction and then the serious expression came back. "This is gonna be kind of hard for you to hear…" He actually sounded remorseful. Castiel furrowed his eyebrows and actually started paying attention, maybe this advice was sound and if not that then it was at least useful. "But this thing you're developing for Dean, this respect or this admiration or even this love… you're going to have to stop it-"

"I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you correctly," Castiel interrupted with a slightly ticked off tone of voice.

"Everyone agrees with me, even Michael. You're putting yourself in bad situation and it's not healthy for you." Gabriel proclaimed.

"I don't see what's so unhealthy about learning to love the person that will one day be my husband," Castiel stated plainly. He honestly had no idea where the jealousy from Gabriel was coming from but to say for even a second that learning to love Dean was unhealthy was pure idiocy on his part.

"But, he won't."

Castiel's head instinctively dipped to the side and he examined his brother closely for any signs of amusement or dishonesty but he found none of that. He was serious… how was that even possible? "What do you mean? We're betrothed; we have been for almost ten years. Has there been a change?"

Gabriel shook his head. "No, no change. As far as Michael and John and everyone else who knows about the betrothal is concerned and there won't be a change."

Castiel nodded, only slightly understanding his brother's statement. "So… what you're saying is, Dean and I won't get married."

"Exactly, see I knew you were smarter than you look."

Castiel pinched the bridge of his nose and entertained the idea of flying out of the room to the Himmel before he had to listen to anymore of Gabriel's riddles. But, his hunting trip started in a few minutes and Dean would be so hurt if he didn't show up. Deciding to elbow through this irrelevant conversation, Castiel raised his head again and looked his brother.

"And may I ask why?"

"You might want to sit down for this one," Gabriel stated solemnly, but with the slightest hint of mocking in his voice.

"I'd rather stand, thank you." Besides, there was no place to sit anyway.

Gabriel shrugged and then took a seat on one of the tables inside of the room, swiping any of the particularly pointy weapons away from his butt, and leaned down with a leer. "Do you remember about two years ago when I told you Michael didn't offer you to Dean because he wanted the two of you to fall in love and live happily ever after?"

He nodded and turned around to the door - which looked so inviting at the moment.

"Well, I never actually told you the reason why he offered you up and I personally think you need to know… before you get in any deeper than you already are."

"Go on…" Castiel murmured, not exactly happy but still interested in what Gabriel's explanation was going to be.

"Michael wanted a political alliance; the easiest way to get that was through a proposed marriage. None of us expects it to actually take place, after the war we were going to drop it."

Castiel opened his mouth to speak but he couldn't muster up the words. He knew that it was a political alliance, he'd always known. But, he thought Michael was also trying to help him to a happy future; give him a partner in all things. Instead, it seemed like he was getting Castiel's hopes up for nothing.

"Then, why would he…"

"Castiel, you were always the strangest out of us all. You may have the most compassion for humans as individuals but you were still the most detached from them and hell, you were detached from everything. It was our plan from the beginning when we first found out that there was a possibility that Dean would be the 'chosen' to make you the betrothed."

Castiel sighed and rubbed his eyelids. If what Gabriel was saying was true- and it did sound true- then they never planned for Castiel to learn to love Dean as much as he has. Understandable, but then why did they allow him to come back here so often?

"But, I can still marry Dean if I wanted to, right? If I choose to, he can still be my husband when he's older."

Gabriel raised his eyebrows and looked at Castiel with a nervous expression. "See, that's the kicker! Dean… we don't plan… you see, normally this would be easy to say… but in order to spare your feelings…" Gabriel mumbled to himself with a concentrated look on his face. Castiel stood there impatiently, having seen this act enough times to know that Gabriel was buying time for dramatic effect. Glancing at out the window, Castiel noted that he was late for his hunting trip with Dean.

"Dean's probably not going to live long enough to marry you."

The simple comment was enough to shock Castiel to the point where he physically flinched. But, there was the war and the throne; Dean had to live at least live long enough for those and they were both very far away in the future. What an erroneous statement! How dare Gabriel assume something like that?

Although he was seething inside, Castiel kept a calm demeanor. "How can you say that?"

"Think about it, bro. Dean's lifestyle ain't exactly a panic room, he's always put in immediate danger and no matter how much we ask the papa to pull him out of it he won't budge-"

"Then why don't we just take him away from here, train him ourselves."

"Because we have training to do ourselves and it's not like Dean is four years old anymore, he's not going to want to come. It would be a waste of time to train someone who's just going to die anyway," Gabriel said.

Castiel bit his bottom lip and looked down to the ground, feeling low and pathetic. "But, it's our job to protect our father's champion. We should watch out for him, protect him from all dangers."

"Like I said, we're not the kid's babysitters. We're way too busy preparing for the big one ourselves; things are already bad."

"But Dean is supposed to lead us into the battle; you can't let anything happen to him."

"I heard you the first time, parrot," Gabriel sassed. "But, we realized that Dean will never be strong enough to fight Lucifer's charge and Lucifer, no matter how many years are under his belt before the battle."

Castiel knew that this was true to some extent. Though the mortal who would be Dean's opponent may be easy to handle, Lucifer was not and Dean has his work cut out for him. "We can't just give up on him."

Gabriel's lips twitched in a smirk and he wagged his finger at Castiel. "Yes we can… you see the five of us alone can defeat Lucifer and his demons. Why waste our time with a prophecy made thousands of years ago?"

Castiel's jaw clenched, though he felt the smallest bit of relief that they would be relieving Dean of his duties he still felt a sinking in his stomach when he thought about Dean no longer having every angel in the world protecting him. His life was too dangerous. He wouldn't survive very long. "You have to be lying."

"Perhaps… but, we're missing the point here. This little obsession that you have with the Crown Prince of Inim needs to stop immediately. Nothing good comes out of it; it'll only hurt more when he's dead."

Castiel turned away from Gabriel and walked toward the door. "Michael would never go against father's wishes and if he didn't want me to love Dean he would have told me so before it was too late. I would rather ask Michael myself then use you as a source!"

Gabriel huffed out a chuckle and Castiel felt his presence leave the room. Sighing, Castiel twisted the doorknob only to have someone open it up from the opposite side. Castiel stepped back and smiled when he saw a small person pop their head through.

"Cas, are you ready to go?"

Castiel nodded and Dean smiled at him, sending his heart afloat. He followed the small boy out of the room and stared at his retreating form.

Gabriel was lying, Dean was their champion, he wasn't going to die, he was going thrive. He would live well into his nineties and after he leads the siege of Iad and comes out on top, they'll be married and Castiel will be very happy.

* * *

The swarm of demons came out in a trickle rather than a burst. But, as is usual with trickles, when they go unnoticed they can turn into a flood. Castiel scanned the terrace uneasily as the demons crept out of the trees and bushes all walking toward the humans with their practically human-like features. They were no longer the gray-skinned, wide-mouthed, long-clawed beings that they were when they first formed; they morphed to take on more human-like features just as the angels did when humans became the majority in the world.

This would have made fighting them more difficult had it not been for their black eyes. The dark eyed beings continued pouring out, circling the mere twenty hunters and ten angels who tagged along- not including John and Dean which made thirty two. Castiel could feel the presence of about fifty demons around the area with more approaching.

The number was manageable but still potentially dangerous, especially if everyone doesn't keep on his or her toes.

The first demon that jumped at them threw himself at Dean; the demon made a grab at his neck but his fingers barely stroked the boy's skin before a bullet was launched into his skull. As soon as the demon fell dead the fight began.

Castiel spent the majority of his time fighting demons off of him until he took his knife out, leaving the gun in his pocket just in case…

One particularly vindictive demon approached him with a long sword in his grips; a look of pure fury in his eyes as he swiped at Castiel with his silver sword. Castiel tried to move out of the way but he was too late and the sword cut deep into his arm. He eyed the cut with a cock of his head; he's fought many a demon in his day but never had one gotten closer enough to actually cut him. He knew he was distracted but still...

"Cas, watch out!"

Castiel looked to his right only to see Luke shooting in his direction, he turned around and saw the same demon coming toward him with his knife raised. He dodged the slash and the demon was shot in the head by Luke moments later.

Castiel sent him an appreciative smile but the boy was already freeing the beast on other demons. He decided to start paying closer attention to his surroundings. Even though these demons technically couldn't kill an angel they could still do damage and Castiel could do without Gabriel's taunting when he sees him banged up.

The fighting got significantly easier when Castiel started paying attention and demons fell to at his feet faster than leaves falling from a tree. But, the demons kept coming; to the point where Castiel wasn't sure whether this was some kind of routine attack or if there was something more…

He turned around and scanned the area for Dean. He saw him at the opposite end of the field somewhere near a bush, shooting demons one by one. His aim was pretty much perfect, a sense of pride filled Castiel. He had taught Dean to shot correctly after all. But, regardless of that, he was just happy he was safe and that Dean could take care of himself.

"Die!" A demon shouted as he launched himself at Castiel with nothing but his fists bare hands. He stretched out his hands and prepared to strike but Castiel moved to the side and waited for the demon to turn back toward him before he gripped the demon's neck.

The demon tried to pry Castiel's hand off of him but his grip was too firm and the demon eventually stopped and looked at Castiel, defeated.

Castiel fixed him with an intense stare that made the demon shiver in his grasp. "What is your purpose for being here?"

The demon smirked and chuckled. "We're demons! Do we need a purpose?"

"Usually no, but you never attack in such large groups," Castiel said sternly. He tightened his grasp on the demon's neck compelling it to gasp and choke. "Tell me, now!"

"What's the ultimatum? You gonna let me go if I spill the beans?" The demon rasped.

"No," Castiel said, the intense glint in his eye was still there and was only getting worse as he got angrier. "I'm going to kill you whether you tell me or not."

The demon sneered and tried to remove himself from Castiel's grip to no avail. "Then I ain't tellin' you shit!"

Castiel inhaled sharply and squeezed harder on the man's neck; if he squeezed any harder he knew he might pop its head off but that was a risk he was willing to take. The demon was only making it more obvious that there was plan here and he needed to find out.

"Listen to me," Castiel hissed in a deep whisper, despite the mess of noise and commotion going on around him. "You're going to die here today; if you tell me what's going on here I can make it as quick and painless as possible. But, if you don't tell me, I promise your death will not only hurt on the outside but on the inside, it will be the most _excruciating_ moment of your life. So, I would recommend—"

Castiel's threatening speech was interrupted when he heard a blood-curdling scream coming from the field; he recognized the voice immediately. John.

When he turned around, Castiel expected to find John with a knife sticking out of his gut or on the ground bleeding to death. But, that's not what he saw. What he did see stopped Castiel's heart in a sweeping motion and rendered him paralyzed.

John was leaned over a body with fat tears in his eyes and screams of anguish coming from his lips. The demons were all leering, but they trickled away in a similar fashion that they came: into the trees and into the bushes, leaving every human and angel there to observe John's hysteria over his injured son.

"Dean…" Castiel groaned. From his stance at the far end of the field, Castiel could feel Dean's life energy fading quickly and he could see the blood all over John as he ran his hands over Dean's body. Without a second thought, Castiel let go of the demon in his grasp and walked quickly to where John and Dean were. Castiel elbowed through the angels and hunters surrounding the grieving father and his son; when he was finally able to see the extent of the damage he felt the lowest drop in his stomach and the slightest strain of his eyelids.

John was holding a bloody knife in his grips as he cried and moaned his child's name; he was running the other hand over Dean's wound, which was on his chest and pouring blood steadily. The Medic-Hunter pushed past Castiel to survey the damage done to the Crown Prince. He pressed gauze and alcohol on the wound as he checked his vitals with his ear and hands.

"Do something! Do something to help my son!" John shouted at the medic as he raised the same knife that was plunged into his son at him.

The medic didn't so much as flinch, in fact, he'd stopped moving all together and looked sadly at everyone surrounding him. Dean's chest was moving sporadically and he was obviously losing control of his breathing; but he was holding on with all he had.

"No! Don't look like that, this is my son. You have to—" John's voice broke and his face fell onto Dean's shoulder and he openly wept onto it.

"There's nothing I can do," he said in the most objective tone that one could muster when telling a group of people that their prince and friend was dying.

Bobby Singer removed his hat immediately, placing it at his heart and bowing his head. Ellen bit her bottom lip and turned away from the scene, shouting a vile obscenity. Luke's head was bowed but his shoulders were shaking. The rest of the hunters followed suit and were soon bowing, cursing or just crying. The angels kept blank looks, but Castiel could feel the somberness in their souls. And Castiel…

Castiel didn't know how to react. He loved Dean. He loved Dean a lot. What was one supposed to feel when they lost someone they loved. Were they supposed to feel as hollow as Castiel was feeling right now? Were they supposed to lose all function of their voices and limbs? Were their eyes supposed to leak? Were they supposed to hate the world? Were they supposed to want to die too? Were they supposed to feel more pity for themselves than for the dying man?

Castiel didn't know…

But, he didn't like what he was feeling. He felt vulnerable, he felt useless, he felt _human. _It was the worst feeling that Castiel ever experienced; did humans feel this way all the time? How do they stand it? Would this be how he would feel for the rest of his time on earth? Lost and unable, vulnerable and useless: human.

No… no! There had to be another way; he couldn't live this way. He wouldn't. There had to be some way to save Dean from death. He was an angel! The first angel! He would find a way.

"I can do something…" Castiel murmured. He ignored every curious eye, except for John's who looked at him with the most defenseless look of grief and hope and at that moment he knew he couldn't let himself become that way. Not because of some human: no matter how beautiful and warm he was.

Castiel got on his knees beside Dean and placed his hands on his bloody chest. He turned around and examined the boy closely. He was just barely alive. His face was stained by blood and his eyes were half open. There were tears on his cheeks and his lips moved slowly, Castiel felt more tears escaping his own eyes when, under further inspection, he saw that Dean was trying to say, "Why,".

Focusing his attention on the task at hand, Castiel closed his eyes and felt Dean's life energy fading with every passing second. He didn't have time to think about what he was doing or make any plans; he just did what felt right. He focused all of his angelic energy to his fingertips; they were pulsing within seconds and but the energy was still trying its hardest to stay inside of Castiel's body.

With one final push of his power, it escaped his body and flew into Dean's prompting his life energy to spike and Castiel's to decline at a rapid pace. Castiel inhaled sharply and fell back, only to be caught by the strong hands of another angel. He'd never in his existence felt so weak. Not even the feeling of Dean's impending death could compare to the lack of power and control that he had at that moment. He never had to release so much energy at one time; it was agonizing.

"He's stabilizing!" Were the last words Castiel heard before his hearing ability started to flicker away.

His insides felt cold but his skin felt like it was on fire; his mouth was dry but his body felt wet; his eyes were wide open but he couldn't see. His entire body was imbalanced; he didn't know whether he was conscious or not or if he was moving or still. His eyesight blacked out and he was numb. For the first time in his life, Castiel felt fear. It was the faintest spark but it was the most intense thing he'd ever felt.

He didn't know what was happening but all he knew was that this was not normal and it didn't feel good. Not at all. He couldn't believe he'd let himself become so undone in a matter of years; the emotions he's felt during the past nine years were all new and frightening.

Fear. Sadness. Regret. Weakness. Anger. Love.

Nothing like what happened today happened to him before those feelings crept into his conscious mind. Those terrible, dangerous feeling…

Castiel didn't want them anymore.

He couldn't stand it; if something happened to Dean on that day or any other day he knew he is wouldn't be able to stand it. He would die inside missing that boy and his warmth. Could he really let himself die over some human?

As far as Gabriel was concerned, he wasn't needed anymore thus he wasn't special anymore. There was no reason to stick around, not anymore.

If he could escape then maybe with time his love for Dean would grow weaker and weaker until the day that when one of his brothers tells him that Dean was killed in some nameless battle in some nameless plot of land and he can feel nothing.

_Nothing…_

Castiel missed feeling nothing.


	10. Chapter 10

Title: Ice of Oblivion Chapter 10/24  
Fandom/Genre: SPN AU Romance, Drama, Action  
Pairing (s): Dean/Castiel  
Rating: T  
Word Count: ~82,000  
Warnings: Underage, Mild Sexual Situation, Violence

Summary: AU. _In a time of great tragedy in the lands of Mamot, the human race and the angel race are forced to form an unbreakable union that will bind them together for twenty seven lifetimes in order to stop the uprising of the demon race. In bargain they offer Castiel, one of the most powerful angels in the entire world to marry Dean Winchester, the young crown prince of the human world. The typically detached Castiel winds up falling in love with the Prince. The only problem is his brothers don't expect Dean to live through the war. Will Castiel stay and support the man he loves despite the heartbreak that might accompany his passing or will he fall back in line with his brothers, becoming numb to all human emotions once more?_

**Chapter 10**

When Castiel's numbness settled he was in the Castle's infirmary, steadily receiving power from his brother, Gabriel. He looked at his brother dazed and frowned; he thought he'd left much earlier for home. It looked like he'd stuck around, much to Castiel's relief.

When Gabriel realized he was awake, he sent Castiel a sarcastic smile that commonly made him roll his eyes. "Good morning, little brother," He said, sounding way too chipper for such a depressing Castiel.

The room was littered with white beds full of indisposed hunters and at least one angel; all were alive as far as Castiel could tell but they were as still as limp and still as vegetables. The early morning sun was streaming through the windows and falling onto their comatose faces and all over the pure whiteness of the room; it was morning all right, but far from good.

"How long have I been… away?" Castiel asked slowly, fearing the answer.

Gabriel shrugged. "Less than a day, which is pretty good for someone who disqualified as much energy as you did yesterday – if you know what I mean."

_Energy. _Castiel moaned throatily and he really stopped to feel his brother's powers flowing through him. It was an intoxicating sensation if he'd ever felt one and he leaned into his brother's arm, trying to force him to give in more energy. He was going to need it; he already felt a lot stronger than he had a day ago when he was first brought here but he was not normal yet and that was what he wanted, desperately.

"I apologize, I didn't think yesterday out completely. I went with my heart rather than my head."

Gabriel chuckled and shrugged. "Oh well, you did manage to save your boyfriend's life without hurting yourself too bad."

Castiel cringed at the words 'boyfriend' but didn't bother correcting him. He just bit his bottom lip and looked down into his lap. "Yes, you're right."

"You see, Castiel. The trick is not forcing all of your energy into someone at one time. You have to do it in tiny little bursts so that your body can adjust," Gabriel explained, half mocking and half serious.

Castiel nodded. "I've never had to do anything like that before."

Gabriel exhaled sharply and pulled his hands away from Castiel's arms and backed up, stretching his hand. "Give me a second, I need some regrouping time."

"Of course, I wouldn't expect you to try to heal me completely today. I just need to rest a while and I'll be back to normal."

Gabriel nodded affirmatively and frowned, placing his hand back on Castiel's upper arm and spilling his energy back inside. Castiel moaned and smiled; spending time with his brother was much simpler and apparently beneficial compared to time spent with Dean. It was a harsh thought, but a true one still. Dean was complicated, very complicated and potentially hurtful.

"You know, you should pay more attention to what I'm doing. You'll be doing the same thing over and over again to keep your boytoy alive for the next couple of years."

Castiel shook his head and looked around the room remembering that they weren't alone in the room, leaned up so that he could whisper. "He's not my… I'm not staying here any longer."

Gabriel looked mildly shocked but he chuckled to hide it. "Oh really? How long are you going to stick to that? About a year maybe two?"

Castiel ignored his statement and continued musing. "I realized you were right when you said I should get away from here and discontinue my relationship with Dean. It's detrimental and distracting."

"Wow, you actually listened to me. I'm shocked."

Castiel rolled his eyes and turned away from his brother, focusing on the many injured faces around him. He felt the slightest bit of pity for each of their problems; they didn't all deserve to have their faces burned off or to have their arms or legs truncated. They didn't all deserve to be on the verge of death. Regardless though, there was only pity inside of Castiel's heart and that felt pretty good.

But, just to think back to Dean's blood covered face and the shallow movements of his chest Castiel felt his heart clench and his eyes sting like needles. He could not live this way.

"I'm going to resign into myself if I can't learn to control these human emotions soon."

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "You'll learn to control them soon enough, hell even some humans have schooled themselves enough to get rid of emotion."

"That's not the point Gabriel. They're getting dangerous; I was cut for the first time in a battle from a lowly distinctively weak demon with a hand knife. I had one of them in my grip and I just let him go… all because my only thought yesterday was Dean. He was all I could think about and that cost me." Castiel rambled with a dazed but irritated expression on his face.

Gabriel nodded and then slapped Castiel on the back of the head. "Let's just leave if you're so ready to get rid of those nasty _feelings_." Gabriel insisted.

Castiel looked at Gabriel stricken. "No, we can't leave yet. We have to tell Dean."

Gabriel looked at him as if his brainpower dropped to less than one percent. "You're about to abandon him, what the hell do you want to say to him?"

"Abandon?" Castiel asked. The word was rather harsh wasn't it? But, it was true. He couldn't think of a way to sugarcoat it. He knew abandonments were for cowards and he was a coward. "I just want him to understand why I'm leaving; I don't want him to have any questions."

"Whatever little bro."

"Do you know where he is currently?"

Gabriel tipped his head to the very end of the infirmary room; there was a relatively private room at the very end, one that Castiel often frequented when he went on his personal tours of the castle. Typically there would be someone of great importance inside and most of the time they knew the Winchester family personally. They were usually intelligent, well-educated and witty. Castiel spent most of his time talking about Dean to them, though.

Instead of all any intelligent, well-educated or witty noble in there was an intelligent, well-educated and witty Prince that Castiel happened to love with all his heart. He had to speak to him about his decision; he would be as honest as possible and break ties with the one human who had enough power over him to make him feel human as well.

Castiel shakily removed himself from the bed he was sitting on and walked toward the room, determinately. He arrived there in seconds and the funniest thing happened, as soon as his hand graced the doorknob - he couldn't move. He wanted to march in there and tell Dean what was what; he wanted to tell him how weak he was feeling and how much love flooded through his veins every second of every day.

But he was worried. He knew Dean; he knew Dean as well as he knew the black wings that tore through his back. That boy would hold his hand, hug him, smile at him or worse- look at him with those big juicy eyes and beg Castiel to stay. Castiel's love for him would prevent him from budging. He would be forced to spend the rest of his life with the weight of the Dean's love on his shoulder and the constant fear of someone wishing to take that love away.

Castiel's hand slipped off of the doorknob and he turned around to see his brother standing there with his arms crossed and he small smirk playing on his lips.

"Chickened out, huh?"

Castiel shook his head and his eyes fell to the ground beneath his feet. "I just really want to go home."

His coward status was just rising and he knew it, but he couldn't bring himself to break Dean's heart to his face. Castiel was always known for his bluntness; now he was afraid to say the wrong thing.

He _really_ wanted to go home.

He wanted to forget Dean and forget their love. He wanted to run away and live the rest of Dean's life in seclusion, or at least until he could breathe again…


	11. Chapter 11

Title: Ice of Oblivion Chapter 11/24  
Fandom/Genre: SPN AU Romance, Drama, Action  
Pairing (s): Dean/Castiel  
Rating: T  
Word Count: ~82,000  
Warnings: Underage, Mild Sexual Situation, Violence

**Chapter 11**

The next ten years of Castiel's life were spent as he said before, in seclusion. He didn't trust himself in the outside world anymore. He_ tried_ the first couple of months; he went on walks through the gardens and visited Inim's smaller cities to ensure peace after the demon infestation reports started to rise. But, everything reminded him of Dean; whenever he saw the blue plant- which his brother Uriel decided to name Dastiel as a joke but it stuck- he would think about the original one that he saw one day while holding Dean's small hands and walking through the Inim's castle gardens. When he went into town and saw young children playing all he could think about was the hyper four-year-old Dean had been. When he saw teenage boys riding big horses all he could think about was the pride on Dean's face whenever he so much as looked at Impala. And whenever he so much as heard the name Winchester in passing, he could only think of the boy he left behind.

It all managed to depress him to the point where he just didn't want to go outside anymore. He spent the majority of his time in his room, his lab or his study; he would spend his days and nights writing, reading, creating, destroying or just staring. Currently, he was just staring.

He just completed another encyclopedia this time including his newfound crossbreed plant, Dastiel, and was completely bored. And when Castiel was bored his thoughts always undoubtedly went to Dean and more often than not, he found himself standing in front of a brown case that contained various letters from his dear ex-friend.

He didn't reply to one.

He feared that if he did, he would open up a box of the same emotions that he was trying to get rid of. So, he didn't read them either.

He placed all of them in the same wooden case and promised himself that one day, when he was emotionally ready he would read each of them.

There was exactly forty one inside. Dean started his letter sending avidly and sent one a month for a whole year, only breaking that tradition in December when he sent him two- one for the holidays and one for the general purposes. After that year without seeing a reply, Dean only sent one a season. For seven years Dean religiously sent those letters to Castiel- when the first flake of snow fell in Winter, when the first flower bloomed in Spring, when the first rolling storm cloud bombarded through Inim in Summer and when the first leaf browned on the oak tree in Autumn. Every single year, that is until two years ago.

No more letters came. Castiel didn't know why and quite frankly he didn't want to know. He feared what the reason could be; either Dean didn't care about him anymore or Dean was no longer alive. He didn't think he could deal with either…

Castiel got on his knees in front of the case and glared down at it. It was sitting idle at the very end of Castiel's room, in between his two largest bookcases. It was a small box but it was packed to the point of combustion and there were various corners and bits of letter sticking out of the openings. Placing a shaking hand on top of the case, Castiel frowned as he lifted it to reveal the large quantity of letters.

It was funny. The only reason Castiel left was because he wanted to get to the point where he no longer cared about Dean; when Dean's death would mean less to him than the death of any other royal. Unfortunately, Castiel realized that his plan was not as foolproof as he once thought.

Distance makes love grow weaker and weaker every day. Castiel stuck by this quote for the majority of his life. It was created by a very intelligent human named Lorraine Crofton. After hearing it the first time, Castiel was so inspired that he actually did a study on whether or not it was the truth. It took years but after reviewing the data, Castiel was sure that it was.

But, the past ten years showed him that different situations make for different outcomes. Unlike some of his subjects, Castiel found his heart only growing fonder of Dean as days went by. He started to love the person he was growing up to be and he hadn't so much as seen him since that day in the wood clearing. He imagined the beautiful man that Dean would become and the smile that he would have grown up with him but remained just as beautiful. It turns out that distance only makes love grow stronger not weaker.

It was frustrating to say the least, but Castiel knew he deserved the torment of loving a faceless man. He made the wrong decision all those years ago and it took him all of ten years to figure it out.

There'd been many times that Castiel wanted to go back but something always stopped him. And that something was his brothers – all of them.

Castiel scowled. His cynical brothers were all enjoying watching Castiel wallow in his own self-pity at the same mistake that he, himself, had caused. Well, everyone but Michael. He was going through his own problems; he barely had time for the immature games that his brothers often indulged in.

Michael was deteriorating from the inside out; the loss of his brother Lucifer and the rising tensions from the impending war that technically already started were starting to take an effect.

Even though Castiel didn't get out as much, his brothers definitely did and they always told him about the troubles of the three regions of the world. Iad was infiltrating Himmel and Inim alike; sparing no punches and have thus far they've managed to curse over one hundred angels and thousands of humans. Though, the demons have never been foolish enough to attack the main sites of either territory. The Vidurinis was the main site of angel life; though not much living went on there- the only people who did live there were the five brothers of Engels. It was used as a place to train and take care of diplomatic nonsense. The Winchester's Palace in Kent and surrounding areas were the main site for human activities; trade, markets, training and in some cases, living. Neither were attacked even once since the massacre incident nineteen years ago where the queen was killed.

For that Castiel was thankful but it was still a stressful situation because of all of the death going on just beyond their reach.

Castiel fingered the opening of the letter and peering steadily at it. With one little rip he knew he could lift one of the many burdens on his soul… one little rip…

"Castiel!"

Dropping the letter back into the case, Castiel turned around to his brother Michael and scowled. He was _so_ close…

"Michael… can I help you?" Castiel asked tightly.

Michael walked fully into the room and it was then that Castiel noticed the anxious expression on his face. Castiel got up from his place on the floor and stood at attention. Michael opened his mouth to speak was shut his mouth promptly when he saw Castiel's still open case.

"What's this?" Michael asked while pushing past his brother and approaching the wooden case.

Castiel's eyes widened and he moved in front of his brother, stretching his arms out he said, "It's nothing. Nothing to worry about…"

Michael leered at the box with the smallest hint of amusement in his eyes. Castiel almost smiled when he saw that idle step out of character in his brother especially amidst all of the disasters going on around them. But he fought it and stood tall in front of Dean's box of thoughts. "Let me see," Michael insisted.

"No!" Castiel affirmed. He usually wouldn't mind his brother finding out about anything in his life – Michael was the most respectful and considerate out of all of his brothers – but this was very different. None of his brothers particularly approved of his relationship with Dean back when there was one. Especially not Michael - who was the first to smirk when Castiel informed his family that he was not going back to Dean's side.

"You understand you denying me is only making me more interested, correct?" Michael said smartly before pushing past Castiel with a sweep of his hand.

Castiel allowed him to but looked on disgruntled as he brother picked up the case and walked it to the desk full of papers in his room. Castiel followed close behind him and peered over his shoulder when he opened the case and removed the letter on the very top; as soon as his eyes scanned it he barked out a loud laugh and turned back toward his brother.

"You kept all of these?"

Castiel looked to the side and nodded, ashamed but not sure what for.

Michael was still smiling but his eyebrows knotted in confusion. "Are you alright?"

He wanted to nod and tell him he was, as he did with all of his other brothers. But, this was Michael. He'd looked up to him since before he could even remember; this was his big brother. How could he lie? Castiel bit the bottom of his lip and sat down on his bed – he only used it for meditation of course seeing as he didn't require normal sleep. Looking into his lap, Castiel finally admitted what he'd been holding in for years.

"I miss Dean."

When Michael didn't speak for a while, Castiel glanced up and saw an obviously hurt expression on his brother's face. He pouted and gazed at his brother critically; he didn't understand why his brother would care either way.

"I surely didn't expect that response," said Michael.

Castiel nodded and, taking his eyes off of his brother, gazed longingly at the brown wooden case sitting on his desk. There was so much _Dean_ inside of that one box; Castiel really wanted to read them all but he could hardly do that with his brother around. Despite his actually seeming to care about Castiel's feelings concerning Dean, actually breaking out the box of letters and reading them right in front of his face seemed like it would spark a good reaction from him. It was too embarrassing and made Castiel seem so much more needy than he actually was.

"It's strange but I truly miss having him in my life, even after all these years." Castiel said honestly.

Michael cleared his throat and Castiel could tell he was uncomfortable with this conversation already; he awkwardly shuffled closer to Castiel and plopped down on the bed beside him. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes before Michael spoke up with a bit of amusement in his voice.

"I didn't expect you to hang on to this little infatuation for so long. I thought surely after the first year you'd be on to some new obsession."

Castiel shot his brother a sharp glare. "Dean was not just an infatuation-"

"It just seems this happens every decade or so. First it was your flower garden, then it was your various encyclopedias, then it was the insect species, then it was interpretive dancing and very shortly after that all you were interested in was the advancement of technology the humans were taking part in. And then it was _Dean_."

"Dean is more beautiful than any rose in the ground and much more efficient _and _relevant than any old machine gun. Dean, he's- he's-" Castiel could barely come up with the words to describe Dean, he was something else that's for sure.

"Castiel, every single one of your stages has been the same. They're just little dalliances that you take part in to distract yourself from your constant boredom. Dean is just a phase, you'll move on, you just have to find something else to distract you."

"He's my betrothed; he is not just a phase."

Michael rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose – a motion that Castiel only started doing after watching him – and shook his head. "I shouldn't have ever let you see him after we left."

Castiel rolled his eyes – something that he'd picked up specifically from Dean and Luke- getting desperate for his brother to understand. Dean was so different than what Michael thought he was.

"Why did you allow me to go visit Dean even though you knew you were going to defy father's plans and allow him to fend for himself?" Castiel asked him sharply.

That question has been brewing inside of him since Gabriel told him about it years ago but he was always afraid to approach his brother with any of his issues. He loved his brother very much and he didn't want him to think that he was upset with him, but enough was enough. He was burning up inside wanting to know the truth behind Dean's newfound unimportance.

Michael opened his mouth to answer but his mouth snapped shut immediately and he stared at Castiel dumbfounded. Castiel felt a smug sense of self-satisfaction after rendering his brother absolutely speechless and almost smirked; but he wanted to address this serious question seriously.

"Well," Castiel snapped.

Michael frowned and cut his eyes away from Castiel, deciding that the bookcase was presenting a more pressing issue than Castiel was. After a while longer of tense silence, Michael faced his brother again.

"It's complicated Castiel. I honestly thought Dean would be of use at the time but the demons are not half as strong as I thought they'd be and Lucifer isn't really showing himself. He's no longer of any use to us."

"But, father said –"

"I know what father said!" Michael sounded sarcastic and angry all at once and Castiel more or less reverted back to the child who didn't question his brother's opinions and decided not to speak until his brother did. "Look, we can stomp this damn war out just the five of us if we wanted to; we don't need humans to get involved –"

"But, they need to be; their own are getting killed too," Castiel stressed. "Do you have any idea what type of rebellion this will spark if you don't let them have their time?"

Michael looked at Castiel with an "already knew that; I don't want to say it out loud, but 'DUH'" expression and then slapping his hand over his eyelids. "Of course I have an idea; I've been living here longer than you have, Castiel, I've seen the way humans react to damn near everything. It will be a challenge but the final battle is drawing near –"

Castiel cocked his head and looked at Michael carefully. "Are you sure?"

Michael nodded gravely and slid his hands off of his eyes. "If we don't nip this thing in the butt without sparking any further consequences then we're in for rough times come next year. We don't have time to play babysitter for someone who we don't _really _need."

Castiel nodded. It was understandable; if he were on the other side of the fence he would have probably agreed wholeheartedly. Why waste time on something not needed when there are so many things to do and so many plans to shape from dust? But unfortunately, Castiel was not on that side of the fence. He was on Dean's side; the same Dean who is still the Number 1 target for all demons out there for reasons that he never knew of and reasons that are no longer relevant to his life. Leaving him out there without someone accomplished looking over his shoulder was blatant homicide on all of his brother's parts.

"I understand you completely and it makes much more sense when you explain rather than when Gabriel elbowed through it," Castiel said slowly. They both shared chuckle at Gabriel's expense. Deciding to cue up the self-pity, Castiel raised his hand over his heart and leaned his chin on the other one. "But, I feel like if I hear something happened to him I won't be able to deal with it. That's the only reason I left… because I'm still not sure how hard it will hit me when he passes."

Michael looked shocked and instantly he placed his hand on Castiel's shoulder. Castiel inwardly smirked; Michael always had a weakness for his two youngest brothers. "I'm sorry Castiel. I had no idea how much he meant to you…"

Castiel nodded. "He means a lot, sometimes I think he means too much." He murmured.

Michael was silent for a moment and then he spoke in a jolly voice. "I'll just… I'll make sure nothing happens to _your_ Dean."

Castiel looked back at Michael excited. "Really?"

Michael nodded. "And one day, if you want and if he wants. You two can have a normal relationship without all of this stress and impending doom feelings."

Castiel never felt more excited in his lifetime and he practically launched himself out of his seat on his bed. They were going to get married, Dean was going to live and they could still be married. It was like a dream come true. The one fear that caused him to leave his future husband was laid to rest and Castiel could finally breathe again.

The past ten years suddenly felt like silly trivialities that stood in the way of Castiel's true happiness that was there in Inim with his betrothed. If only he'd decided not to listen to Gabriel and just confronted his older brother years ago all of this would be solved and his relationship with Dean would not be a crippled as it obviously was.

Michael stood up and held his arms out to Castiel, obviously expecting a hug. But Castiel was too busy brainstorming: when should he go visit? How should he dress? How should he ask Dean to marry him? They were all important questions that deserve answers and Castiel kept them all in mind so that he could properly think of them when he was less distracted by his brother's strong arms.

Castiel wrapped his brother into hug and smiled into his shoulder. Things were finally looking up!

At that moment, Castiel's room door burst open and Castiel and Michael turned around to see an anxious and disgruntled Uriel standing there. From the look on his face, Castiel knew he had some important information.

"Running a little fast for your physical stature, huh Uriel."

Uriel straightened his tie and frowned. "Not the time smart-ass, something's happened," He said, completely serious for once.

Michael immediately snatched away from Castiel and, now in complete military mode he asked,

"What?"

"There's been an attack!"

"Where?" They asked simultaneously.

"Kent - in the Winchester's castle."

* * *

**Hi everyone, I just really wanted to thank everyone who has reviewed up to this point. Every single review has made me extremely happy this holiday season and even before that. Thank you again! **

**I really appreciate you taking the time out to review! **


	12. Chapter 12

Title: Ice of Oblivion Chapter 12/24  
Fandom/Genre: SPN AU Romance, Drama, Action  
Pairing (s): Dean/Castiel  
Rating: T  
Word Count: ~82,000  
Warnings: Underage, Mild Sexual Situation, Violence

**Chapter 12**

The damage done to the Winchester's territory was ten times worse than anything from the previous massacre… There were dead humans littering the streets all being carried away by family and friends, houses were burnt to the ground and small children and women limped through the streets begging for food. There were many of the Kent's soldiers riding through the streets with their guns and swords drawn and the angels walked through, some helped people while others searched for more demons.

The Winchester's castle was no different. Bodies littered the staircases and some of the hallways. But, the most disheartening thing about the massacre were the angels.

Castiel swore to himself that he would never put himself in the position were he would have to witness angel's under "the curse" again. Not after that fateful day after Resurrectio Gonseprial put nearly thirty angels under it. It took those angels almost three hundred years to awake again and by that time most of them were near the point of being called back to heaven anyway.

It was disappointing and despite their best efforts Castiel and his brothers could not find anything to pull them out again. So, they were left to their fate as were every angel put under the curse thereafter, including the seven who were cursed during the second massacre in Kent.

They found John Winchester in the meeting room and surprisingly sober - without a single bottle of alcohol near him – discussing what happened with a couple dozen of his advisors. He perked up when he saw them enter and stood, patting them both on the shoulder kind of angrily.

"I was wondering when you were going to get here."

Michael frowned. "The demons didn't reach the castle until a couple of hours ago."

John scowled. "And look at all the damage they did."

"What happened?"

Castiel zoned them both out; he wasn't really in the mood for any of their diplomatic talk, he wanted to know where the Winchester brothers were. When he found an opening he quickly snuck the question in and John Winchester looked pained because, frankly he didn't know.

"My soldiers briefings reported that Sam is still in the castle. They're not sure where Dean is; he must have went out to scout for survivors way before the demons got here."

Castiel nodded, he was disappointed that he had to wait to see Dean but he knew that if he found Sam he would know where Dean was.

* * *

After leaving his brothers with John Winchester, Castiel went off to find Sam. If Dean was still missing then there was a chance that Sam knew where he went off to and whether or not he was okay. He did find it weird that Sam was not at his father's side throughout the whole ordeal; it seemed like the familial thing to do but the three remaining Winchester's had never seemed like much of a family to begin with.

Castiel found him, or someone who he could only guess was Sam because of his royal clothing and the Winchester emblem on his ring, in the Castle's kitchens. He looked a lot different than he did the very last time Castiel saw him. But, it was expected. He'd only been nine then and now he was a nineteen year old young man: he seemed to be a lot taller even while sitting down and his hair was longer than before. He was very attractive and last Castiel learned he was betrothed to a woman named Emily. His eyes were downcast and his hands were clenching and unclenching on a small pink cloth, his shoulders quivered and Castiel was not sure he wanted to interrupt his grief.

"Sam Winchester?"

Sam's whirled around, got out of his chair and in record time he had a gun aimed in the direction of Castiel's face. Castiel was mildly shocked to even see one of those in Sam's hand, Dean always told him that he didn't want Sam to ever fight like he did. He wanted him to be smart and become the best healer in the world. And now, here he was with a gun at Castiel's chin. Times surely have changed and judging by the intense glare on Sam's face, not for the better.

Castiel stood rooted in one spot and frowned at Sam.

Sam squinted and peered at Castiel carefully before lowering his gun slowly as the slightest bit of recognition showed on his features. "Castiel?"

Castiel nodded and tried to give Sam a pleasant look but the guilt at leaving Dean and Sam was still weighing heavily on him, so all he could muster was a shallow twitch of his mouth. "It's good to see you Sam."

Sam breathed out a shaky chuckle and Castiel was happy to see that whatever troubles he was previously having seemed to disappear for only a second. "It's good to see you too. It's been a while."

"Yes," He agreed. The unsettling feelings of awkwardness weighed down their attempt at small talk. It obviously wasn't the time for that and they both knew it; but Castiel had the feeling that Sam knew just as well as he did that if they started speaking about the happenings of the day they'll both leave that room more heartbroken than they were when they entered it.

Sam cut his eyes away from the angel in front of him and focused on the pink cloth in his hand; Castiel followed his eyes and examined the cloth closely. It was velvet pink and had golden-stitched embroidery on the outsides, there were finger print smudges from overuse and stains from all sorts of sources – the most prominent was blood.

"That's a lovely cloth," Castiel commented awkwardly.

Sam only huffed out a short laugh and then nodded.

"Does it belong to you?"

Sam visibly stiffened and his grip on the cloth tightened; Castiel immediately knew that he asked the wrong question and was about to stir the conversation on to more pressing issues but then Sam spoke.

"No, it's belongs to Jess."

Maybe it was the drip of hurt that came out in the slurred response, the way that Sam glanced out the window or the obvious tremor that ran through his body after his proclamation but all Castiel could say was, "I'm so sorry."

Sam nodded. "Yeah…"

"Dean always told me she was a good friend of yours."

"The best…"

Castiel's eyes dropped to the ground and his frown deepened. He was not good with conversations dealing with loss; he didn't think he could have a relevant conversations about such things. There's nothing logical about grief – that is something Castiel knew personally- and trying to converse with Sam would probably only make the poor boy feel worse about losing his best friend.

"What happened?"

Sam looked back up at Castiel with clear tears shimmering in his eyes; the angel already felt bad for Sam but it only seemed to get worse as time went on. He and this Jess were clearly closer than Sam was letting on. Sam shrugged and took a seat back on the chair he'd been in at first.

"She died in my room; she was set on fire… I think. I only got in there in time to see her die; Dean was in there with us too but they were taking him away by the time I came in."

Castiel was at full attention at the mention of his kind-of-sort-of betrothed. So, that's what happened…Dean had not gone into town to fight more, he was taken away. Anger and worry filled Castiel's gut and he focused much closer on Sam's story than he probably would have any other day.

"I didn't even try to help him; I thought I might have been able to help Jess but-" Sam sighed brokenly and buried his face into his hands.

Castiel approached him slowly and placed his hand on Sam's quivering shoulder. He'd done the same thing for Dean when he was young and grieving for the loss of his mother; though it had barely worked in calming him then, he still stuck to his earlier theory that physical contact is one of the best comforts for humans. Sam seemed to have the opposite reaction that his brother had and calmed after a couple of minutes of Castiel's intended comforting weight on his shoulder.

When Castiel deemed him calm enough, he leaned down and asked, "Is there anything I can do?"

He honestly meant this question, if Sam asked him to go out and hunt down the demon that did this, he would without hesitation but only after he found Dean. Ever since Sam told him that Dean was kidnapped, his heart continued to beat sporadically. Those demons could be doing anything to him at that very moment: torture, murder or worse… he needed to alert John and his brothers of this new development. He still didn't know why Sam had not, but he didn't dwell for long on that mystery.

Sam looked at him with a fiery look in his hazel eyes and tight lips, but didn't answer.

"Anything Sam," Castiel pressed.

"Just –" Sam sighed shakily and the fiery glint in his eyes turned to stark rage and vengefulness. "Bring my brother back.

_That_ Castiel could do.

* * *

The entire great hall radiated a tension that Castiel's could cut with a knife. But, If only it were that easy…

There were twenty advisors in the room, about forty guards and then there was Michael, Castiel, Sam and John.

After Castiel informed his brother and John Winchester of the information he got from Sam. They both went into action mode and were quickly sending people off to do tasks and analyzing the situation. He was very happy that Michael was showing interest in Dean's wellbeing again and he was even happier to know that he was the reason for that. And John, though noticeably sad and sick-looking, was in complete offensive when it came to getting Castiel back to where he was supposed to be. He knew with those two people on the case, he didn't have anything to worry about.

Their plan was to intercept Dean and the demons who'd taken him before they set foot into Iad territory. They sent some of the most powerful angels and hunters they had after them…

Everyone was feeling pretty confident until every single angel and hunter they sent out, came back with the same conclusion:

"They took Dean into demon territory and it would be a suicide mission for such a large number of people to walk into Iad." Or in short, "Dean was as good as gone."

Castiel knew he was sporting similar expressions of distress that John and Sam- who joined the others in the room shortly after Castiel did- were but he felt their heartbreak stronger all the same. Michael looked nervous and appeared to be thinking of a separate route. While a lot of the other people in the room were all releasing frustrated sighs and rolling their eyes.

It seemed like there was no hope (especially when John started insisting on the hunters and angels storming in anyways) until Castiel's mind finally clicked.

"I have an idea…"

All eyes turned to Castiel, who stared back in challenge. "Why not send a smaller group of no more than ten people to rescue Dean?" Every single person in the room looked skeptical, so Castiel decided that he'd better explicate. "If we send a smaller amount of people it'll be more difficult for the demons to notice them. They'll be able to get through Iad relatively unscathed especially if we send experienced angels and hunters who will travel through wooded areas and stay away from the main roads, something that would be impossible if we sent a large group."

"And what do you mean 'relatively unscathed'? Will the demons detect out group anyway?"

The women who spoke was unfamiliar to Castiel but no one seemed to regard her as if she was new, so Castiel simply answered her question.

"Of course we run the risk of getting caught whenever we set foot into Iad, but if we expect to help Dean this is the only plausible plan that I can come up with."

And it was. Iad's territory has been a mystery since demons started inhabiting it; no one tried to pass near any boundaries for the simple reason that it wasn't safe. Demons were soulless creatures and seemed to become more so as the years went on. It was life threatening to so much as look in the direction of Iad, let alone walk inside of it. But, the Crown Prince was there now and as a nation they would have to risk whatever they have to get him back.

It short, like a wise-man once said, _'Sometimes you got to do what you got to do.'_

"This is silly!" A man, an advisor shrieked after everyone had been silent long enough.

Castiel frowned when out of the corner of his eye he saw John's eye twitch and his fists rise ever so vaguely. He could barely blame him for his reaction though. I mean, who was this man to pass any judgement on the rescue of the Crown Prince. He _was_ the Crown Prince after all and the future leader of the entirety of Inim.

The man either didn't notice John's reaction or he didn't care because he kept speaking with the same self-important attitude. "We were attacked today and those demons have been trying to slip and slide their way into our territory for years. Obviously something's happened or else they wouldn't have gotten in here in the first place. We should be focusing on the battle that we all know is coming except for trying to save a lost cause."

Every eye in the room turned to John to note his reaction but to everyone's surprise it wasn't John who responded it was Sam. "So my brother is a lost cause?"

The man, not seeming to back down, spoke with fire, "Don't you see, those demons want us to go there and risk our lives. It's just one life –"

John slammed his fist on to the wall and with wrath and rage in his eyes he called to the guards, "Take him away!"

Three human guards ran up and grabbed at the man's arms tightly. He struggled, but it was to no avail and the guards took him away kicking and screaming.

Castiel felt sort of bad for the man; even though he was angry at first he did have to admit the advisor made a sound point. Bad times were here and the battle that was going to tip the scale was upon them. The fact that they were actually considering sending their best fighters into enemy lands at a time like this was disturbing and Castiel would be the first one to admit it.

But, on the other side of the spectrum, Dean was the Crown Prince and the people of Inim already relied on him as if he was already King. It would be a political disaster if citizens found out that they left Dean to die.

When John was calm enough, he turned to Castiel and regarded with a very familiar expression on his face. The same one from the very last time Castiel saw him: open vulnerability, extreme sadness and hope. And for the first time, Castiel did not feel bitter or afraid of looking at it.

"Are you sure this will work?" He asked.

Castiel shook his head. "Nothing is certain but it's our only chance if we plan to save Dean."

John nodded slowly and looked at his advisors with an open mouth, as if he was going to say something. He must have thought about it because he looked back at Castiel, once again pleading.

"When Dean was a child you used to be able to feel him?" Castiel nodded, not really knowing where John was going with this. "Then, you should still be able to feel him, right? You should be able to tell us his exact location."

Castiel opened his mouth in a silent 'oh'. "Of course I can, I can try to do it now if you'd- if you'd like."

If Castiel did concentrate long enough he could feel the faintest flicker of the warmth that he'd strayed away from for the last ten years; he couldn't exactly tell where it was but he knew it was far away from the Winchester's Castle.

"That's not what I meant…" John murmured.

Castiel cocked his head to the side. "Then what…" He trailed off. Sometimes humans truly were confusing.

"Will you lead them?"

Castiel pouted, not entirely sure if he heard correctly but after looking at John again he knew he was really asking. "Me?"

John nodded. Castiel looked down to the ground with a frown marring his features; this would give him a chance to meet up with Dean before the war; perhaps to explain to him why he left all those years ago and then, if time permits, to propose marriage to him once again

But, on the other hand, did he really want to disengage from his responsibilities now? The war was getting started and his brothers and all the humans were going to need some help and he would like to be here if things started getting bad before they got Dean back.

The answer seemed so simple.

"Of course I will."

John beamed and nodded. He then turned to his nearby guards and said, "Bring in our best hunters."

Castiel smiled. He was happy that he was finally getting the chance to be around normal intelligent humans for once, that as a very rare thing especially when he came to here. Who would his travel companions be?


	13. Chapter 13 and 14

Title: Ice of Oblivion Chapter 13+14/24  
Fandom/Genre: SPN AU Romance, Drama, Action  
Pairing (s): Dean/Castiel  
Rating: T  
Word Count: ~82,000  
Warnings: Underage, Mild Sexual Situation, Violence

**Chapter 13**

"Cas – my man, how's it been?"

Castiel sighed inwardly. Just his luck!

The three strongest hunters in Inim's realm were as not only talented but also Dean's friends, which made them as insufferable as three young adults could be. Castiel knew them all from the time they spent with Dean, their names: Luke, Jo and Trent. They all grew up to become strangely good looking people and they were all the embodiment of good hunters: strong, quick and at least mildly intelligent.

Although he was a little annoyed that he didn't get older more experienced hunter's he was happy Dean would have some people who he was comfortable with coming to rescue him because who knows if he is at all comfortable with Castiel anymore.

"Hello Luke."

Luke pulled him into a one-armed bear hug; shocking and choking Castiel, before letting him go with a gentle thrust outward. "It's been so long and you haven't grown an inch."

Castiel cocked his head to the side and looked at Luke, confused. Did he not know that he was angel? He was about to ask when Luke punched him in the shoulder, hard.

"Dude, you can't go into Iad dressed like that. If they see you they'll know you're a damn angel for sure, it's bad enough you look like that!"

Castiel glanced down at his clothing; it was as white as a cloud, a normal suit styled robe. It was the normal style of clothing for an angel at a station as high as his. All of his brothers dressed similarly… he would have to change…

"How do I look?"

"Like yourself man, even after all of these years."

Jo approached him from behind and placed her hands on his back. "We've got to get you some new threads."

Castiel did not fully understand the words they were using but trusted their judgment; after all they were the ones that John was sending with them and if his "threads" made them uncomfortable then he was fine with changing them.

They dragged him into a separate room in the castle and handed him a small stack of clothes. He thought they were pretty interesting. A white shirt with a black suit jacket along with it; the clothes were actually pretty snug and he really liked the trench coat that they gave him so that he could inconspicuous.

Before they left, Castiel went to find his brother, Michael. He knew his brother probably was not happy that he was going into demon territory by himself to save his betrothed but it was very necessary if he wanted to be married soon. He was standing on a balcony outside of Sam Winchester's room; there was a lot of commotion coming from outside and his brother was peering at it, obviously disturbed.

Castiel stood beside him and shivered at what he saw.

There were people, hundreds of people storming the castle gates. They were screaming and yelling for their leader as their bloodstained hands gripped each other and the metal bars that separated them from their "oppressors". But, it was the strangest thing. They weren't calling out for John… they were calling out for Dean.

"It seems they've realized their wonderful prince has been kidnapped," Michael claimed starkly.

Castiel shivered and frowned. His eyes scanned the horizon steadily; there were so many people, soldiers and angels who were peering up at them. They needed a leader; Castiel turned to his brother and frowned. Their leaders were not the angels… instead their leader was Dean. If they planned to win this war, they needed Dean.

Michael knew it too.

"Bring him back brother," Michael said solemnly. "But, be careful. There's something – there's something wrong with this. Lucifer should have made his attack today – it doesn't make any sense. He's planning something, something much bigger than this prophecy. Watch your back. He's out there."

Castiel nodded gravely. "Of course."

* * *

Finding Dean's location was not as difficult as Castiel thought it would be. In fact, it was significantly easier. The thing that was not easy was getting there. Having to walk through wooded areas and push through trees with long willowy branches was annoying enough. But having the constant complaining from Jo and Luke made the entire trip more irritating than ever.

_Something's biting me_

_Who the hell planted all these trees _

_My hair is going to be a mess once we get out of here _

_I'm going to kill Dean when I find his ass_

_I'm so tired _

It was confusing that they had so many complaints when it was Castiel, Anna, Raphael and Lucas who were forced to walk while they used their poor horses for two days worth of legwork. Not to mention that after the sun goes down they usually get their tents out and go to sleep while the angels tend to the horses and scout for any dangers – both have gotten significantly harder with the alarming dip in their energy.

But, Castiel did find other things to occupy his time. He brought along his letters from Dean and he kept them in a sack on Dean's currently master-less horse, Impala. He spent the entire two day journey reading and rereading letter after letter until he knew everything about Dean from the past ten years. He knew about all of his escapades and shenanigans, he knew about all of his grief and heartbreaks and he knew about joys. He knew that Dean missed him and expected him to come back and by the end of that particular letter Castiel knew he missed Dean and wished he actually had gone back.

As long as Castiel went not seeing Dean the more he wanted to punish himself for abandoning Dean like he did.

Fortunately, the trip was not long and before anyone knew it Castiel could sense Dean's presence less than a mile away.

Less than a mile away however, they all saw the alarming structure that was Iad's fortress through the trees. It was a giant of a structure; gray and tall, it dwarfed all of the forest area and every other structure around it. As they pressed on closer, Castiel could see human faced demons parading around on the castle walls, all of them armed and prepared.

When the angels saw this Castiel could feel their fear peak to an alarming rate, but they said nothing. Castiel was the leader of this crew after all; their opinions were not warranted.

When the humans saw this, however, the first words that Castiel heard from them was: "How the hell…"

Jo did not finish her statement but Castiel could fill in the blanks: "How the hell are we supposed to get through that?"

And he honestly did not know so he stopped moving and just stared, everyone else followed suit.

"So, what's the plan boss?" Luke asked after Castiel was silent for a long time.

Castiel scowled at the obese structure as if _it_ was their enemy. "I'm not sure."

He could hear their eyes widening behind him; but he didn't turn around to confirm it. "You don't know?" Jo asked, her voice quivering.

He understood their worry; he was supposed to be the leader but he was never used to leading. He could come up with plans as good as anyone but actually taking the reins and manning the ship all by himself was exhausting; especially when everyone turned to you to make difficult decisions.

Castiel sucked in his lips and with one last look at the fortress, he turned around to his party. Being proactive was the best policy in this situation! "Does anyone have any suggestions?"

Everyone, even the angels, looked at Castiel with dull expressions but Castiel pressed on with a light smile on his face. "Come on, the floor is yours," He encouraged.

The groups of six all looked at each other expectantly and after a while they all dropped their eyes in defeat. Everyone except for the one out of the six that Castiel most admired, Trent; his eyes were gleaming like he was actually thinking up a solution. After a while of waiting, Castiel nodded grudgingly and turned around again.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to improvise."

"Wait!" It was Jo. "Trent thought of something."

Castiel smiled inwardly and released a soft sigh of relief. He was actually starting to get worried for a second there. "What is it?"

Trent began to move his hands in signs and movements that Castiel understood to be sign-language. But, instead of focusing on the hand movements, he focused on Jo – who was interpreting it for everyone else to understand.

"The castle walls are manned by guards but it's always the guard count is always light on the sides. If we try to get in on the sides of the castle we can avoid a lot of the demons. But, we have to be quiet."

The angels made a sound of approval and Luke slapped Trent on the back. Good, so they had a plan.

After tying their horses to trees they all went west in the forest until, as far as they could tell, they were on the east side of the castle walls. It was sparsely inhabited; only seven demons or so manned the gates. It was a good ratio and if they had the time they could all take one. But, time was not on their sides and there were too many demons on the other sides of the walls who could easily hear them fighting.

Castiel looked at the humans expectantly; they had some kind of silent killer type of device. He'd read about it; it was called Rifle and he could recognize the distinct shapes on its back. They got his message quickly and, still in the trees where no one could see them they moved up and aimed.

He watched mesmerized as the seven heads of the demons on top of the building blew into a mess of blood and their bodies dropped to the ground with low crunches. Having not been around a gun in years, Castiel was shocked with the initial shots and how quiet they were.

When no demons came rushing out from any other direction, they knew they were in the clear and they all ran out from the woods and only stopped when they reached the tall walls. Everyone felt around them to see whether or not there were any easy openings or trap doors but there was nothing and the walls were thick.

"Castiel, do something," Luke whispered harshly.

He nodded and took a few steps away from the wall; he knew there was something he could do despite the plunge in his energy. He focused all of his attention on the wall and raised his hand up slowly still focusing with all his might. Then, with one crunch of his hands a small portion of the wall collapsed down into itself and fell to the ground.

He looked at everyone with a triumphant smile on his face and then proceeded to walk into his small hole; inside the walls there was still a ways to go before they reached the actual castle where they were keeping Dean. Everyone else followed him into the wall and collectively groaned when they saw how much farther they would have to go to get to the castle.

"Let's move," Castiel said affirmatively and then he started walking slowly in the direction of the castle.

"What do you think you're doing?" A sharp voice from down the green pastures asked.

At the end of the wall, near the front gate, there were swarms of demons staring down at them. Castiel could feel the collective power radiating off of them; they were in trouble. The humans all raised their guns and pointed them at the demons; none of them showing the fear that was obviously in their hearts. The angels, on the other hand, had no problem expressing their fear and though they went immediately on the defensive, their eyes were wide and Castiel could feel the little bit of energy that they had skyrocketing in worry.

"Castiel…" Anna said, alerting his attention back to the situation at hand.

He inhaled sharply and then waved his hand at the people at the back of him. "Run," He whispered.

Everyone seemed to hear him and they wasted no time turning around and running in the direction of the castle. The demons were chasing after them as well, but they had the power of the "head start" on their hands and they made it to a window of the castle quickly.

Luke turned the butt of his gun and slammed it through the window expertly before climbing through. Just when everyone else was about to follow, they heard a painfully loud screech coming from the air, followed by a inhuman scream.

"Ahhhhhh…."

Castiel's eyes darted to the sky and he released a low exhale when he saw it.

It was a lizard-like creature – green scaled skin, large black beady eyes, claws so long that they bent into themselves, and a tail so thick that it merged effortlessly with the rest of the body – except this one was big and it had wings that stuck out of its back like extra hands. It cast a shadow over every person underneath it as it flew by them.

It landed on the castle walls gracefully and stared at the intruders. Castiel froze and gawked at the creature; in all his years on this planet he never saw anything like it. It was magnificent, the final evolutionary partner of the domestic lizard. He felt someone tugging at his sleeve, but he barely moved. He was enamored; how did demons ever go about discovering such a creature.

Just then, the creature shrieked and started to fly toward them fury and evil in its eyes. Castiel quickly leaped through the window with the rest of his party; they all looked at him a little annoyed but Castiel barely cared since he could feel Dean stronger than ever.

"He's in here, for sure."

They were inside of a bleak sort of kitchen-room; there were discarded pots and pans as well as broiling meats with blood-covered carcasses littered beside them. Castiel grimaced and turned toward his crew.

"Are we all ready?"

They nodded as they took out their guns and knives; Castiel took out his own and nodded back at them before bounding toward the door. As soon as they opened it, there were six demons standing there ready to strike. The humans shot them down and then they running.

The demons seemed to pop up out of nowhere; Castiel could barely stab one without three more coming up out of nowhere ready to fight.

A baled demon jumped up from behind a wall, throwing his body into Castiel's and toppling them both over. Castiel's knife flew out of his hand, skidding across the floor under the feet of his fighting team and the demons that engaged them in the conflict.

He groaned brokenly as the demon sent one punishing punch to his gut after another; he released exhale after broken exhale as he struggled to push the demon off of him. It wrapped his hands around Castiel's neck and squeezed tight, repeatedly banging Castiel's head on the stone floors.

Even in his disorientation, Castiel knew that there was something he could do. He only briefly studied fighting mechanisms for disputes with demons but he could remember one lesson in particular that involved banishing a demon from itself. It was strange but his only hope with the demon overpowering him.

Castiel raised his arm and wrapped it around the demon's throat- the demon didn't even fight with him because of how weak his grip was- and chanted out the one phrase that was apparently supposed to make a difference.

"Ja vas protjerati."

The demon's neck snapped up so quickly that Castiel thought he'd broken his neck and then all at once its beady black eyes widened and its mouth opened inhumanly wide. Castiel crawled backwards from underneath the demon and watched with wide eyes as the faintest fog of dark smoke seethed out of every pore on his face.

The demon lowered its head slowly, its eyes still wide and afraid, and looked at Castiel as if he expected him to go off into some kind of long stagnant speech about exactly what he just did to him. Unfortunately for him, Castiel didn't even know.

The smoke coming from its face continued to pour out until it resembled a recently put out camp fire and then, the demon released an inhuman shriek and the smoke centered on his eyelids and mouth, shooting out into the ceiling and disappearing forever. The demon's body collapsed with skin as white as a corpse and Castiel almost applauded himself, before he realized he was still in the middle of a battle and he needed to get his knife rather than risk an energy drain like that again.

Except, there were no demons moving anymore; they all stared at Castiel and their party with wide eyes and slack jaws. This would be an extreme advantage if his teammates weren't doing the same thing. Castiel pursed his lips and gave his crew a slightly miffed look; they all seemed to catch on before the demons snapped out of their stupor and started shooting and stabbing them. They managed to subdue most of the demons; the rest fled.

"Well, that takes care of that," Luke murmured as he moved closer to Castiel; he handed him his recently disposed of knife after wiping it off on his shirt.

"Thank you," Castiel said, taking the knife and pointing it downward. He was not going to put it away again and risk putting himself in the position of having to do what he just did again.

"Dude, what did you just do?" Jo asked him suddenly.

Castiel stared blankly at the ground; he didn't have a firm grasp on it himself. The lesson he thought he learned it in turned out to be a false memory when he tried to think back on it. In actuality, it was his brother, Gabriel, who taught him about it and assured him it would work. Castiel believed him of course but never tried it until that very moment. Glancing at the ceiling of chamber, Castiel sighed.

"I'm not sure."

Jo was about to press him further when she interrupted by the wary voice of Anna,

"Can we please focus on task at hand; those demons who fled will be back with more in seconds."

"Not to mention we have a monster outside who looks like it wants to eat us," Raphael stated indignantly.

Castiel nodded. "They're right; I can't feel Dean as strongly anymore." He hadn't noticed it until after the fighting died down but Dean's energy and warmth were not as strong as it was when Castiel first laid eyes on the castle. He initially thought all of the added stress and distractions was the cause but that proved futile when the room was empty and there was nothing else to focus on but Dean. It unnerved him; they were running out of time.

"Does that mean he's not here?" Lucas asked.

"No," Castiel stated. "It just means he's losing life energy fast and if we expect to bring him home alive we're going to have to get… a 'move-on'"

The humans were once again vigilant as they scanned their surroundings. The room they currently inhabited was a dining room of sorts – believable because of its location next to the kitchen- there were various small tables scattered everywhere rather than one long table that was a custom in Inim and Himmel. Above the smell of blood and gunpowder, the faint scent of rotted meat and ale reached Castiel nose from the various leftovers on all of the tables. There were tattered napkins akin with finger prints and bloodstains all over the floors and tables, a dead flame in a large fireplace in need of cleaning and the chairs and tables toppled over rolling around or merely shaking – Castiel will admit that that the last part may have been more their fault than the demons.

The dining room was fit for savages, which is exactly what demons were. There were doors on either side of them; there was no way of telling which lead them where, not that it really mattered because the group had no idea where they were truly going.

"Usually big castle's like this keep their prisoners in the dungeons located underground, like in the Winchester castle and even in Himmel's." Jo repeated slowly while trying to keep up with the hand movements of Trent.

Castiel nodded; it was the best start after all. He randomly choose a door that looked like it might be the right way and the group followed; as soon as his hand touched the door knob though, they all heard:

"Stop!"

Castiel didn't recognize the voice, but the others in the group all started running in the direction of the scream. He assumed it was Dean and noted, with a bizarre and inappropriate bit of delight, that Dean's voice really sounded like an adults. Their trek brought them in contact with many demons, but Castiel told everyone to keep going and only shoot those who were in their way. Before he knew it, they were coming across a high staircase except for a deep dark dungeon.

Demons always liked to do things backwards he supposed.

"He's up there," Luke suggested as screaming demons started to pile up behind them. He bit his bottom lip and started to push Castiel towards the stairs. "You go; we'll handle it down here. Just get Dean!"

Castiel felt kind of bad for leaving all of them to fend for themselves but at the same time felt a sick sort of satisfaction at being the one who would rescue Dean. He nodded at Luke and started to bind his way up the stairs.

Now call Castiel sap but he'd read a lot of books in his day and that included, unfortunately, fairytales. Where intelligent children somehow outsmart every living adult in their lives, where houses are made of candy or when princes kiss their sleeping brides without one grimace at morning halitosis or one intolerable roll of the eye when they see their bed hair. They were all implausible but Castiel could not help but note the similarities in his current situation and one in a fairytale.

A determined prince with a sword clasped in his hands marching up an endless staircase to meet his beloved. When he makes it, the one he loves the most will be sitting or lying down timidly waiting for their prince not a stretch on them and a smile outstretched on their face. The lovers throw themselves into each other's arms and kiss like they haven't seen each other in ten years, pronounce their love for each other and live happily ever after as soon as the prince slays the dragon and frees all of her animal friends.

It was a stretch but Castiel definitely hoped for at least some of his twisted fantasy to be true, if only to ease his ailing mind.

As soon as Castiel made it up the staircase the first thing he saw was a hunched over figure who he instantly knew was Dean. He was about to call out his name when two long arms snaked their way around Dean's shoulders and clutched his hands into his own; he guided them into the air and that's when Castiel saw it, a faint gleam, but a gleam nonetheless, of a dirtied knife.

"No!"

The demon plunged the knife into Dean's unguarded stomach with Dean's own hands and all Castiel could do was watch as his love crumbled to the ground.


	14. Chapter 15 and 16

Title: Ice of Oblivion Chapter 15+16/24  
Fandom/Genre: SPN AU Romance, Drama, Action  
Pairing (s): Dean/Castiel  
Rating: T  
Word Count: ~82,000  
Warnings: Underage, Mild Sexual Situation, Violence, Major Character Death

* * *

**Chapter 15**

Castiel never knew what it was like to see red until that day.

People often referenced to it in books and in every day conversation; like when they see their cat clawing one of their favorite sweater or when they catch their wife with another man. He never knew what it meant and he didn't think any human being could get angry enough to completely change the genetic makeup of their retina's light energy so that they can only see red.

But, now he knew. He knew it wasn't as literal as he liked to believe. He would have rather seen everything around him turn as red as blood because of his anger rather than the vision he actually saw.

What he saw was not human, what he saw was not angel, it was beyond demon. He saw it with his arms still wrapped around Dean's convulsing body as something so much less than what it was. He saw it as something dead but not only dead, massacred, banished, completely destroyed. Something that is no longer a demon but a carcass that even after its body decomposes to bone still twitching and squirting blood from Castiel's "seeing red".

The feelings scared him; they scared him so much that he contemplated going back home at that moment, holing himself in his room and locking every memory of Dean away until he felt ready again.

But, he _was_ ready and seeing Dean here only confirmed that.

Before he knew what was happening, Castiel was on top of the demon with a blood-drenched knife in his hand, stabbing him over and over. The crimson blood stained his eyelids and his face as it splattered out of the demon's veins; Castiel knew he was covered in it - demon blood - and for some reason it didn't disgust him. In fact, it made him feel more powerful, madder and angrier than ever before.

He was going to continue his ministrations when he heard his teammates calling out to him from below not to mention the various demon-like shrieks. The demon below him was long dead and Castiel was wasting so much time.

"Mmmmm…"

Castiel gasped and turned quickly to Dean. He was doubled over with his arms covering his stab wound while small trickles of blood fell from between them he moaned and groaned. Castiel threw himself off of the demon and crawled over to Dean; the boy – man, Castiel reminded himself- was slipping in and out of consciousness. That was a bad sign; they needed to get him away from there.

He scooped Dean up into his arms and held him close to his chest; he was significantly heavier than he was the last time Castiel carried him - of course he was roughly eight at the time – but the new confirmation only solidified how disconnected he was from Dean and how long ten years really was for humans.

Dean moaned brokenly when Castiel carried him; Castiel figured he was probably trying to protest but he paid him no attention. They had to get out of there immediately, with Castiel holding onto Dean he was virtually useless in battle and Dean was fading away, flickering out like a candle. He pulled the man closer to himself and jogged down the stairs.

The six people below them were shooting and stabbing sporadically and Castiel noted, with a sigh of relief, that they all seemed to still be alive and uninjured. If any one of them were that would highly complicate them getting out of there.

"I have Dean," Castiel stated while coming down the stairs; he could see the immediate recognition and concern fall over Luke's features. He wavered in his shooting for only a second before firing aggressively again.

"Okay, I have an idea on how to get us out but we have to get on the ground floor," Luke exclaimed.

Castiel nodded; as he waited there for the people below him to kill the demons he observed his betrothed and former friend. His face was caked in blood, in fact his entire body was bloody and whether or not it was his blood or something else's remained to be seen. If it did all belong to Dean then it was obvious that he didn't have much time. His eyes were half-opened although despite that, he seemed unsure of his surroundings and continuously moaned out indecipherable questions until his eyes drifted closed and his body fell limp. Castiel panicked and looked back at his team; there were not as many demons left but he could hear more coming.

"Luke, we need to get Dean out of here, now!" Castiel snapped.

Luke nodded quickly and put his gun away while reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a small blue grenade and bit off the top. "Cover me," He yelled over the gun shots.

Castiel watched him run to the ground floor, as far away from the demons as he could, and toss a grenade to the nearest and weakest looking wall. The lagging time of the grenade was painfully long and in that amount of time, they could all see more demons walking toward them – much more than before – with smirks on their faces. Amongst them he could feel a wave of energy that was so familiar that it made his skin crawl.

The grenade exploded with a bang and a small part of the wall collapsed. The demons tailing them stopped in their tracks and the eight of them wasted no time running toward the hole. They allowed Castiel to go first because of his holding Dean and they all followed soon afterwards. They all ran toward the previous hole they made in the castle walls.

It was the strangest thing. There were no demons tailing them as they made their way out of the castle. Even the ones outside waited with grim expressions; none of them so much as twitched while the group of humans and angels ducked through the wall and ran back in the direction of the forest. When they were far away enough, Castiel handed Dean over to Trent, who immediately went to work on his injuries.

Surprisingly though, Castiel couldn't focus on Dean's health or well-being as long as his senses stayed glued to the fortress almost a mile away. It couldn't be, could it?

He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Anna standing there with a troubled look on her face; almost as troubled as his own.

"You felt it too?"

Anna nodded. "Yes."

Castiel sighed and nodded back to her. "Lucifer…"

* * *

Castiel spent that night in Dean's tent. After handing him over to Trent, Dean was worked on for hours before Trent concluded that the stab wound to Dean's stomach may not have been fatal but because they were outside it needed to close immediately. That's when they decided that they would put Dean in the tent until he was awake enough to consent to a procedure as dangerous as forcible closing. Until then, Castiel decided that he wanted to be the one to watch over Dean.

He never truly noticed how low a tent could be until that night; he never had to spend a night in one. He was used to the high ceilings of Himmel's castle and the endlessness of his father's sky. Being in closed spaces made him nervous, one time while visiting a small town on the outskirts of Inim he was forced to go into a hut that was exactly his size and had a minor panic attack before racing out of there feeling queasy.

Raphael, who was with him during that particular incident, reminded him of it as soon as he proclaimed he was going to watch over the currently ailing Dean Winchester. At the time he didn't really care or remember the incident but after a couple of minutes of having to sit in one place and one bone ratting incident where the top of his head brushed the top of the tent Castiel was suddenly reminded of his problems.

To distract himself from his irrational fears, Castiel decided to get rid of his other fears and finish Dean's letters. There weren't many left to go, probably two or three, either way though, Castiel figured he needed to read them now. Dean was there now; within Castiel's reach and his for the taking. If he ever wanted to move forward he knew he was going to have to go backwards again, if only for a little while.

Castiel could sense Dean's growth in his letters; the last one's all being when he was well into his twenty's. When Castiel got to the last letter he was a little excited but apprehensive as well. He wanted to end the chronicles of 'Dean Winchester's years without his best friend' but at the same time, he didn't want to read the letter that ended the chain. The one that stopped Dean from writing to him for two years:

_Dear Cas, _

_This is me again – Dean. I'm just writing to tell you that I won't be writing to you anymore. I realized that there's no point, you obviously don't care about me anymore. We're not friends anymore, hell we probably never were. _

_I'm older now; almost twenty-one and I don't have time for all of this childish bullshit. You could have at least told me that I was wasting my time eight years ago when you decided we didn't mean anything to each other anymore. I think I deserve at least that, but of course not. Nope, you're too high and fucking mighty for that; you'd rather show all of your angel friends up on Crystal Mountain my letters and laugh at me. _

_Or, you never opened them. You saw who it was from and you didn't even bother cracking one of them open to see how you're favorite human was doing. If that's the case, you probably won't open this one either and I don't blame you. It did get pathetic after the first year or so. _

_I feel this humongous weight lifting off of my shoulders every time I think about letting you go. I just want to relieve myself, if I get rid of you I'll never have to worry about this weight again. _

_Have a nice life Cas. You'll live yours far longer than mine. _

_Love, _

_Dean_

The unfamiliar tingling sensation overcame all of Castiel's senses when he placed the letter down in his lap. It was only two years ago when he became a memory and only two years ago that Dean moved on. He never felt worse about himself and his decision as he did at that moment.

His previous assertion that he was going to meet up with Dean for a second time and woo him effortlessly to the point where they could be married again flew out of his mind and was replaced by a crippling feeling of hopelessness. He really hurt Dean, he didn't think about it at the time but the very thought of waiting around for something you cared deeply for only for them to not come is unbearable.

Why hadn't he thought about it?

Was he just too selfish? Castiel never was selfish; he was the compassionate one who helped humans and sympathized with them. He wasn't the one who stomped on their feelings to save himself from feeling the same only much stronger.

There was a gentle ruffle of the tents opening that shocked Castiel out of his thoughts. It was Luke, the only person other than Sam and John who cared about Dean as much as Castiel did. The man was holding a long shotgun that he cleaned with a small rag. He sent Castiel a short smile and then, stepping over Dean's body, he took a seat beside him.

"How's he doing?"

Castiel felt Dean's life energy much stronger than when he was stabbed and it continued to grow. "He's recovering," Castiel said, nodding.

Luke breathed out a long sigh and leaned back as much as he could without tipping the tent over. "That's a relief," Luke said almost as if the weight of the world was lifted off of his shoulders. "Good thing you were here. God, if you weren't he would probably be dead right now."

Castiel shook his head but didn't speak. He doubted it; Dean held on for ten years without him, another two days wouldn't have made a difference. Dean would've made it as long as he could have, with or without Castiel. He turned to face Luke and glowered at what he saw.

He looked completely concentrated on one of the scars over Dean's forehead; it was a long and isolated gash that completely took away from Dean's features and drew attention to itself. It was fresh and still had beads of blood sticking out of it but for the most part there was almost no blood. But, that was not what surprised him; it was expression of guilt that crossed Luke's skin and made him look haggard.

Castiel still wasn't good at offering comfort to humans; he always tried with Dean when he was younger but the boy rarely got comfort from Castiel himself. In fact, he used to get sadder. But, Castiel could not just allow Luke to look that way.

"It wasn't your fault Luke."

Luke looked taken aback but he still frowned and turned away. "Like hell it wasn't… I'm the worst body guard ever."

Castiel shook his head and regarded Luke with sad eyes. "No, that's not true. You can't be in all places at once. There was a full scale attack on your home."

Luke chuckled lightly. "Dean was in all places at once, I should have followed him."

"No," Castiel said with a shake of his head. "We both know that if you had been with him when he was captured than you'd be dead."

Luke tensed before nodding. "Still, I'm only here to live for the crown and die for the crown…" Luke murmured more to himself than to Castiel. He placed his head in his hands and leaned back some more. "This sucks, your boyfriend is too fucking rash."

Castiel gasped and scowled at Luke at the reference of Dean as his boyfriend. He felt his face heating so he quickly turned away from Luke to hide his shame; the very mention of him and Dean actually _going steady_ filled him with so many strange emotions. He could only hope that that was what the future had in store for them.

Luke seemed to notice Castiel's embarrassment and – so much like Dean – broke out into laughter in a complete 180˚ of his previous behavior. He covered his face with his hands and continued to laugh, though it was muffled at that point.

The angel's eyes widened and he clutched his chest. Would Dean react the same way when Castiel asked him to be his "boyfriend"? Would he laugh in Castiel's face? Would he mock him like he'd just asked him something trivial like how many grams of sugar are inside of a large cupcake?

"Thanks Cas, you really helped me put everything in perspective," Luke said in between bouts of laughter. "Because, you know, it was Dean's fault that I had to leave him anyways…"

Castiel pouted and despite the coloring that he just knew was still on his cheeks, he turned around looked at Luke, puzzled.

"He told me to go to the Medical Quarters of the castle to protect his… his _honey_."

Luke left the room clutching his sides and chuckling, his gun forgotten at Dean's bedside.

Castiel felt an involuntary shiver go up his spine. Has Dean found someone else? It only made sense, he _was_ a twenty three year old man and he was the soon-to-be King. It was necessary for Dean to become acquainted with other people. He needed to establish bonds and, if he chooses a female, produce heirs. And Castiel had not contacted John Winchester about anything concerning his engagement to his son since the deal was struck. Maybe he was letting Dean make his own decisions now. …

Castiel looked at his fallen betrothed and frowned. How did he let things get so messed up?


	15. Chapter 17

Title: Ice of Oblivion Chapter 17/24

Fandom/Genre: SPN AU Romance, Drama, Action

Pairing (s): Dean/Castiel

Rating: T

Word Count: ~82,000

Warnings: Underage, Mild Sexual Situation, Violence

**Chapter 17**

The first gunshot was unexpected. The second one shocked Castiel on his feet. The third one prompted him to pull his knife from his pocket. And the fourth one got him out of Dean's tent. There were roughly a dozen demons approaching their campsite through the woods and all of his allies were attacking them feverously. Castiel went to join them not once thinking about the disabled and unconscious man inside of the tent.

The demons were peons to say the least; in no way were they the best that Iad had to offer and most were easy pickings face-to-face. But, they were in the forest and the demons – the feral beasts – were in their element. They crept out of trees and bounded out of forests with wild shrieks, catching nearly everyone off guard at first.

So for the most part, the battle was simple.

But, Castiel was still worried. If these demons were able to find them less than a day after they rescued Dean than it was highly likely that they knew the route they were going to take back home. And if that was the case then it would be very simple for Lucifer to send more demons there way, much more and more powerful.

The demon count was trickling down to almost zero when Castiel stabbed his last demon and the remainder decided to flee. Everyone was able to breath again but not for long because as their eyes scanned the campsite turned battle ground, they heard a strange ruffling.

"Damn it," Shouted Jo. "One just got into Dean's tent!"

Without wasting a second to try to comprehend what Jo said, Castiel scurried in the direction of Dean's tent and could hear the rest of the humans following. If not for this Iad's powers over angel's strength Castiel could have flew there and if something happened to Dean because he couldn't he swore he would rip Lucifer apart piece by piece.

Just as they came within inches of the tent they heard a loud screech and then a gunshot. The demon flew out of the tent, almost knocking everyone off of their feet, with various shot gun bullets in its chest… dead.

Everyone looked at the tent, amazed. They shuffled over and pealed open the flap entrance; there was Dean, sitting up with Luke's forgotten shot gun in his arms. He was breathing hard and biting his lips hard enough to draw blood.

His striking – still striking – green eyes snapped up to the seven little heads peaking at him from all areas of his opening. He gave them a baffled look but his eyes obviously weren't giving him a clear picture because all he did was frown and squint. "Hey…" He murmured.

That seemed to shock everyone out of his or her stupors, no one, not even Castiel, expected Dean to recover to the point of consciousness so quickly. The first to speak was Luke, who launched himself into the tent and threw his arms around his friend.

"Dude, you have no idea!" Luke shouted. Castiel expected him to finish his statement but after the man only continued to cradle Dean and smile into his ear he dropped the issue.

Dean groaned in pain but otherwise didn't move to push his friend away. Instead, he just reached up and placed his hand on Luke's shoulder. "Good to see you too," He said.

Jo and Trent were next, both saying hello to Dean in their own way. Jo wrapped her arm around Dean's neck and caused him to groan again. While Trent took the shot gun from Dean's hands and gave him a firm handshake. Then the most bizarre thing happened, Castiel felt overcome with this emotion. It was new and though he knew what it was, he couldn't admit it to himself.

Despite having three people hanging off of him like leeches and being in pain because of it, Dean didn't try to push any of them away. He just rolled his eyes and looked forward at the remaining four heads; his eyes roamed over them quickly but they stopped and widened almost comically when his eyes fell on Castiel.

He squinted for a second time and then his eyes were wide again. The expression was difficult to decipher, it was blank but there was something there, something new. Castiel met his eyes gaze and just looking into those green eyes he knew that Dean was still himself and he knew that he still loved him. He still loved him very much.

Dean gulped and his eyes dropped to his lap before rising again. "Cas?"

Castiel nodded. "Yes Dean." He did want to say something spectacular, something that would make Dean realize how sorry he was and how much he missed him for all those years. But nothing came to mind and a simple I love you, I miss you was not passable in Castiel's mind. He just went with the familiar. "It's – it's nice to see you again."

Dean nodded but didn't do or say anything else; he didn't even look at Castiel anymore. He focused on his friends, engaging them in random conversation, completely ignoring Castiel.

Castiel felt his stomach drop but it wasn't as if he didn't expect that reaction. Dean was still hurting and it was his fault. Dean was allowed to ignore him and treat him like dirt, if only for now.

Anna put her hand on Castiel's shoulder and pulled him away from the tent as the rest of the angels lifted from the cramped up space. Lucas gave him a sympathetic smile while Raphael expressed stark amusement by chuckling openly.

"We have to make a plan if we expect to get back home without more of them coming after us," Anna said.

Castiel nodded. Business needed to come first. When they had a better escape route he would worry about Dean; until then Castiel's feelings for Dean would have to take a backburner.

They decided to take an alternate route back home using a rather archaic map that still split the land of Iad up between Himmel and Inim. The only problem, of course, was that it would take a couple more days to get back. But, it was still something and it was relatively safe if they stayed in the woods and away from mainland.

* * *

They set off immediately after they made the plans; Dean decided to ride his horse alone, insisting that he would be fine and he felt up to "sitting on his ass on top of a moving animal and he was kind of pissed that anyone would think for a second that he needed a chaperone on his own damn horse". Regardless of his earlier assumptions though, Castiel saw Dean's obvious pain every time his horse mis-stepped or whenever they went down a hill.

He tried to ask if Dean was okay, but the man wouldn't even speak to him. He pretended like he didn't hear him each time. Even though he knew he deserved it, Castiel was still disheartened every time Dean ignored him. He could remember a time when Dean hung on to his every word and treated him like he was the most special thing in the world; now Dean didn't even look at him.

How was he supposed to get Dean to love him again if the boy didn't want to admit he existed?

* * *

The next morning started out as usual; the angels spent their time constantly recharging their energy as they weaned their way off of nightly patrols while the humans all crept out of their tents with messy heads and sleep drenched eyes. They went to the water basin and took small quantities for themselves to wash off their faces and hands.

But, as luck would have it, Castiel saw no sign of Dean creeping out of his tent at the break of dawn and he didn't hear a peep from him when the humans started making breakfast.

He told Trent, who told Jo, who told Luke. Luke stood up with a frustrated eye roll and walked towards Dean's tent with his gun in hand. "Dean, wake the hell up!"

When there was no sound, not even a curse or groan, Luke peeled back the flaps of the tent and pulled back, looking confused and troubled. "Dean's not inside."

Once again, without thinking about the situation, Castiel launched himself off of the ground and immediately started barking out orders to everyone present. They all followed them without thought and when half of them started to leave to find Dean, Castiel followed.

He had not bothered to channel his energy to finding Dean when he hadn't risen in the early morning, which was very foolish on his part. He decided to do it then and followed that path; the others went in opposite directions just as Castiel ordered. He needed some alone time with Dean.

He found Dean in a slightly uncovered area with a pistol in one of his hands. As Castiel moved closer his breath effortlessly caught up in his throat when he finally saw Dean. He was beautiful. In the early morning hours the sun hit his body just right and cast almost no shadow on his face, lighting it up with a fervent glow. His body also changed; Dean only wore his undershirt and pants, giving Castiel an amazing view of the mature body in front of him. Bulging with rippling muscles and tan skin, the man looked heavenly. His father definitely took his time when he sculpted Dean; especially his face. Castiel could tell it was Dean, just a more grown up version of the beautiful boy he used to be. But, his face still changed so much. He had beautifully shaped lips and wide eyes with thick eyebrows that matched each other perfectly. He still had freckles that dusted over his skin and made him seem almost child-like. But, he wasn't a child. Not anymore. He was a man now and Castiel couldn't have been more proud.

Dean held the gun in his left hand and shot the silent gun a faraway tree; he sighed in frustration and pulled his arm closer to himself again, favoring his right arm with a grimace.

"What are you doing?"

Dean jumped and turned around with his gun already aimed at the man beside him; when he saw who it was a frown seized his features and he turned away quickly. "None of your business."

Castiel wrinkled his eyebrows because of the rough treatment; but he would take snarky comments like that over bizarre silence and isolation anyways.

"Are you trying to relearn your gun," Castiel asked. "I think you already have a wonderful shot, Dean."

Dean glanced at Castiel and then turned back to his work at hand. "Thanks…"

Castiel opened him mouth to make another comment when Dean turned completely toward him with an uncharacteristically callous expression on his face. Castiel swallowed his gasp and frowned.

"Why are you here?" Dean asked, sounding exasperated.

Castiel cleared his throat and moved a little closer to Dean. "No one knew where you were. I have no idea how you managed to sneak past us in the first place."

Dean sighed and rolled his exquisite green eyes. "Well I'm fine, there's nothing to worry about. Can you just leave now?"

Castiel was about to follow his advice - he was starting to feel very uncomfortable being on the receiving end of Dean's stony gazes – but he stopped when he saw Dean favoring his right hand. He'd always used his right hand to shoot, it was only then that Castiel noticed that he'd been using his left when he showed up.

Cocking his head to the side, Castiel moved closer to Dean. "Is something wrong with your arm?"

Dean shook his head. "It's none of your business. Just – just go back to camp, I'll be there soon."

"Do you want me to assist you?"

Dean didn't answer him and instead just turned away and focused on the tree a couple of yards in front of him.

Castiel took that as a 'no' but decided that he would try to help anyways. He taught Dean how to shoot Before; no doubt Dean could use his assistance again. He moved closer to Dean until he was so close that they could share body heat. Dean obviously had not noticed Castiel moving so close to him and jumped forward when he felt Castiel place his hand on his indisposed arm. He whirled around to face Castiel and stepped back a couple of steps.

"Dude, don't do that!"

Castiel's head dipped to the side and he frowned. "What – what did I do?"

"Personal Space," He said simply.

Castiel scowled while his head dipped to the opposite side. He studied many different things but "personal space", he didn't understand that concept.

When he didn't say anything for a long enough time, Dean sighed and turned around to face the tree. "Just try not to stand too close to me. It makes me… uncomfortable."

That was probably the worst thing Dean told him all day; when Dean was a child they touched each other a lot – it was like of their things. Even when Dean got to the point where he became too old to hug, he still liked to be close to him; they brushed arms and knees like two teenagers in love. Now, Dean wanted this… "Personal space". Castiel released a heavy sigh and nodded.

"I apologize."

Dean gave him a strange look, the same one from the previous day when they saw each other for the first time in ten years. But, he quickly masked it with the same callous expression from before. "Can you go back to camp so I can finish this?"

Castiel almost consented to Dean's request but he knew he would never get anything accomplished by just walking away. That's what he did years ago and look where that got him; if Castiel planned to fix everything he messed up with Dean then he would have to bother him until he breaks and lets them be friends again.

"Can I help you?"

"No."

Castiel scowled at the back of Dean's head but pressed on, "I know the perfect method to help you use your left hand; it's not entirely difficult."

"Cas," Dean snapped. "I got it."

"But, if you'd only let me –"

"Cas!"

Castiel frowned and moved closer to Dean – he almost cheered when the man didn't move away. He placed his hand on Dean's left arm and tried to raise it up to aim again. Dean tried to jerk away then but Castiel kept a firm, pinching-like grasp on his arm and succeeded in putting it into the proper position. Dean gawked at him but otherwise didn't make any more movements to stop him.

Despite his personal space issues, Castiel was pleased to report Dean did not completely yank away when Castiel got close enough to his ear to whisper, "Cradle your arm with the other, it keeps you in focus."

Dean, apparently getting the point, placed his right hand on the bottom of his left one. Castiel congratulated himself; maybe Dean was not so averse to him as he pretended to be. He observed Dean's stance and was disappointed to see his legs very close together.

"I believe I taught you about your posture before…" He murmured.

Dean looked at him, annoyed. "Cas, I'm not in a – "

Castiel interrupted Dean by bending over so that his knee could kick Dean's legs apart; the man consented but only after kicking Castiel back once or twice.

"Are you focused?"

Dean didn't answer him but Castiel did feel a strong gulp going down his body; he didn't really know what that meant at first but took it as a sign that the man was focused.

"Now… shoot."

Dean unloaded three bullets at the tree all of which made it in the exact same spot. Castiel smiled and stepped away, looking at Dean with pride.

Dean, however, looked uncomfortable and wouldn't even turn to face Castiel all the way. "… Thanks… you can, uh. Go back to camp now, right?"

Castiel nodded. "Of course," He affirmed; Dean looked relieved before Castiel added, "But, not without you."

Dean looked frustrated as he wiped his forehead with the side of his small pistol. "Seriously?"

"Yes," Castiel said with another nod of his head. "Leaving you alone would be very irresponsible, not to mention the fact that you're shooting guns while we're being hunted by demons. If we expect to make it to Inim without dying I would recommend us pulling out immediately before the demons realize we're here because of your gun shots."

Dean threw up his arms and stomped past Castiel while muttering various obscenities, most of which Castiel knew was about him. But, he didn't really care enough to feel bad about it; Dean listened to him, not only listened to him but looked at him and talked to him, he even let Castiel touch him.

Things were finally looking up – again!


	16. Chapter 18

Title: Ice of Oblivion Chapter 18/24

Fandom/Genre: SPN AU Romance, Drama, Action

Pairing (s): Dean/Castiel

Rating: T

Word Count: ~82,000

Warnings: Underage, Mild Sexual Situation, Violence

* * *

Chapter 18

* * *

Things were not looking up…

After their little rendezvous in the woods, Dean acted colder toward Castiel than he ever had before. He no longer ignored him, but he was blatantly rude to him. When Castiel so much as made a comment, Dean always had something to say back and very rarely was that something constructive. It was usually vindictive and totally out of place.

After less than three days of traveling, Dean proclaimed himself the new leader of the group; deciding rather quickly that since he was King and more than half of the people in their party were his subjects he was better person for the job. Also, that Castiel was too unskilled for the job.

The comment was meant to hurt and honestly, it did hurt. Castiel had not reacted to it though, not really wanting to give Dean what he so obviously craved. He opted to agree with the man, which only pissed him off more and made him act even worse to Castiel. After hours of the verbal abuse, Castiel trickled to the back of the group and walked by himself for a while.

He would have never expected someone who liked him as much as Dean did when he was a child to hate him as much as he seemed to. It appeared their apparent connection while "relearning guns" had not made a difference and Dean hated him again.

Whatever dreams Castiel had about coming back and having Dean fall in love with him again were slowly disappearing from reality and became fantasy yet again. Dean would never love him.

Luke apparently saw how disheartened he was and approached him.

"Don't worry about Dean, listen man. He was just – god he's going to kill me for telling you this – but he was just really hurt when you left. Give him some time, he'll come around."

The statement was supposed to be a comfort, but it only made Castiel feel worse. Aside from Dean's final letter and Castiel's own inklings, he never received such solid evidence that Dean was hurt by his sudden departure. His guilt weighed so heavy on him for the rest of the day – how could he have done something to someone he cared so deeply about? Of course, he knew why and he was ashamed that his mindset had not changed much. He was still afraid for Dean and if something happened to him at that very second, even with Dean acting so frosty toward him, he didn't know how he was expected to survive.

Regardless, though, Castiel never felt guilt so strong. He felt guilty before, like when he neglected to tell his older brothers when Gabriel was plotting some kind of prank against them or when he decided to procrastinate through writing another textbook. But this – what he did – was too much to handle.

He had to appease his guilt.

He knew he was being selfish (again) and he knew that his selfishness was the thing that got him into this situation in the first place, but if he was ever expected to get farther with Dean then he had to have a clear conscience.

He was going to apologize to Dean. He only hoped Dean didn't shove it back in his face…

* * *

"What the hell do you want?"

Castiel cringed but still crept inside of Dean's tent; it was late at night and quiet aside from the incessant chirps and hoots from bugs and birds. Everyone else was either sleeping or going to sleep while the angels were on patrol. Castiel cleared his absence from nightly patrols with them early to be here but when now he kind of wished he was with them.

"Can we talk?"

"No," Dean said simply. "I'm going to sleep."

Castiel nodded and sat down at the very edge of Dean's tent, closest to the entrance/exit. Dean's tent was the same size as the others despite his kingly status, it only had enough room for Dean to lay down horizontally without his feet sticking out and there was enough room on the edges for Dean to spread out his arms or legs if necessary. Dean's space was cramped though; it held maps, small lanterns, parchment and ink. It was barely enough for Dean let alone Castiel himself.

"I know," Castiel said. "But, if you can only lend me a second of your time."

Dean looked irate and harshly pulled his blanket closer to his face, very much like a young child and scowled. "Look, I've had a long day. I just want to go to sleep."

"Please Dean, just - please - just one minute and I swear I'll leave," Castiel begged.

There must have been something particularly pathetic about his expression because Dean's features softened and he moved the blanket away from his face. He regarded Castiel with a calculating look before sighing and sitting completely up in his bedroll.

"Shoot."

Castiel fought his excited grin by clearing his throat and beating his chest once. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Dean's voice.

"Time's ticking asshole."

Castiel decided to ignore Dean's rash "asshole" comment and speak instead. He was only promised one minute and he was going to use it wisely. "I wanted to apologize."

Dean frowned and his eyebrows tightened; he looked truly interested then and leaned down onto his elbow. "Apologize? For- for wha- you didn't do anything."

Castiel bit his lip hard and nodded brokenly. "I have… when I left you," Castiel said, uncertain.

Dean's mouth opened in a silent 'O' but then his expression changed to one of obvious cockiness. He shrugged his shoulders and his head dipped to the side in a fashion like Castiel's. "Really?"

"Yes, really." Castiel cleared his throat; he only had twenty more seconds left… "I understand now that I was gone too long."

"Really?" Dean sat up straight again and gave the angel a challenging look. "I didn't notice."

Castiel nodded even though he knew for a fact that Dean _had_ noticed and he was hurting. "Even if you didn't I know now that ten years is a very long time. We were close friends when you were a boy and now that you're a man I think we're not connecting on that level – "

"You think?"

Castiel frowned and nodded. "And I think that has something to do with the time span between our meetings."

"Ten years was the time span, ten whole years," Dean elaborated, hand gestures and all.

"Yes, I know. I just want to apologize, I don't want you bitter – "

"Bitter? Why the hell would I be bitter? We were _just_ friends, I was _just_ a kid and you were _just_ my guardian."

Castiel noticed then that his time limit was completely out, but Dean was giving him a window and continuing the conversation. The angel was going to use every bit of that window to mend his guilt. "You meant a lot to me, you still mean a lot to me. I don't wish to lose our friendship."

"It's a little late for that, huh Cas?"

Castiel shook his head and scooted closer to Dean. "No, I think we can. We have the tools to fix it, if we try."

Dean looked at Castiel long and hard before shaking his head and trying to shuffle under the covers again. "I'm tired."

Castiel, feeling panicked, reached out for Dean's hands and took them from their place on the end of the blanket. He held them firmly in his own hands and before Dean could start to tug away he looked the man in the eye and spoke. "I care for you Dean. You're the only human I've felt this strongly about. I haven't gone a day without thinking about you since the last time I saw you."

Castiel felt like a shunned lover begging for the forgiveness of someone he wronged, but he didn't care. It was all the truth, after all.

"Please Dean, I just – I want us to be the way we used to be. And I know you do to…" And the funny thing was, Castiel did know. Thinking back on it, he remembered lots of the times when Dean insulted and demeaned him with a pained look in his eyes – almost as if he didn't want to do it.

"So, what you just know me now," Dean asked him mockingly. "You're God looking into my fucking soul and knowing everything about me. You think I miss you?"

"Yes," Castiel answered simply.

Dean looked taken aback by the solid answer, but he recovered quickly and a cocky self-indulgent smile lit up his face. "Well, then you're wrong. I don't care about you, I hope you die –"

Dean stopped short with a sharp inhale of breath when Castiel moved closer and pulled him into a hug. Castiel smiled into Dean's shoulder, he was just as warm as always. He was surprised when Dean put in no protest and accepted the embrace with a shocked silence; Castiel was expecting some kind of extreme punch-in-the-face type reaction and getting literally nothing threw him through a loop.

He was about to pull away when he felt two hesitant arms drifting up his back and clasping onto his brown "trench coat". Castiel released a long sigh; his guilty conscience was waning and it looked like Dean was on the path to forgiveness.

"Why," Dean started to say but froze.

Castiel understood where he was going and he did not want to elaborate on his reasons for staying away so long. His reasoning would probably depress Dean more than silence would. Not to mention it was embarrassing. How was he expected to say out loud that he avoided Dean and all of his efforts to reach out to him simply because he was afraid of losing him and because his big brother told him to? It was contradictory not to mention childish. If he told Dean the truth the man would think of him as a coward for the rest of his life and probably never speak to him again.

And he couldn't let that happen, especially now that he was feeling the warmth of Dean again.

"I – ummm – had to leave immediately after the incident at your hunting gathering because I had to recharge my energy." That wasn't entirely untrue and so Castiel did not think of it as a lie.

Dean nodded into Castiel's neck. "Why didn't you come back?"

"I lost track of time." Another almost lie; he did lose track of time during those ten years it seemed like one second he was agonizing over the feelings for Dean and the next he was agonizing over leaving the boy alone for ten years.

"But, I, uh, I sent letters and sent messengers…"

"I didn't receive any letters from you." That was a lie. That was a blatant untruth and Castiel knew it, but what else could he do? Telling Dean that he did get the letters and just didn't read them would be confirming one of his base accusations from his final letter. It's not like Dean would ever find out, no one but Impala saw him reading them.

There was a long stretch of silence with the two now-friends still holding each other in their arms.

"Uh, Cas, I'm really starting to feel like a chick."

Castiel could not think for a second why so continued to hold him.

"Dude, seriously, get off of me. Personal Space."

Castiel sighed a long-suffering sigh and pulled away from his friend. He hoped Dean didn't call "personal space" every time they hugged from then on. When he looked at Dean, the man was smiling a small and fond smile.

"So, you still like me, huh? Even after I said all the shitty things about you?"

Castiel nodded enthusiastically. "Of course, you were just angry and you felt betrayed. I understand completely."

"I don't have to apologize?"

Castiel shook his head. "That hug was all I needed."

Dean smiled, no he beamed; it was so different to see that smile on Dean's older face. But that smile, that same beaming smile, reminded him so much of that worshipful grin that Dean often bestowed on him and that he often bestowed on Dean all those years ago. They were good again. They really were.

"So, tell me about the last ten years. Have you discovered any new plant species, preferably a useful one?"

Castiel launched himself into an all out description of anything spectacular he'd done in the past ten years. It honestly was a lot of things; at the time he did them all he could think about was Dean and he was not able to focus on himself too much. But, everything became good again so Castiel felt comfortable telling Dean about everything and watching his face light up when Castiel described his more exciting discoveries and he listened to all of Dean's crude but frankly hilarious jokes when the man no longer wanted to listen to the tedious ones.

The pair spoke for hours before Castiel noticed Dean's eyes dropping and sent him to bed.

When he walked out of that tent there was tightness in his chest and shortness in his breath that brought tears to his eyes. He didn't understand where the strange bodily reactions were coming from but he suffered through it well into the next day.

Dean was much more civil with him that day and insisted that Castiel walk beside him; he opted out though because his symptoms only seemed to get worse when he was beside Dean.

He described his symptoms to Luke out of desperation and the man only grinned and barked out laughter when Castiel finished.

"You're in love man!"

_In Love…_


	17. Chapter 19

Title: Ice of Oblivion Chapter 19/24

Fandom/Genre: SPN AU Romance, Drama, Action

Pairing (s): Dean/Castiel

Rating: T

Word Count: ~82,000

Warnings: Underage, Mild Sexual Situation, Violence

* * *

Chapter 19

Now that Castiel was in love with Dean he had to figure out a way to make the young man love him back. Not that Castiel was not comfortable with only loving someone like Dean from afar. Dean was perfection incarnated as far as Castiel was concerned, second only to his father; he was strong, brave, funny, arguably smart and the most beautiful thing Castiel ever laid his eyes on. He was meant to be loved from afar. But Castiel wanted so much for Dean to love him too. They were friends, of course. And Dean probably regarded him with some friendly reverence that would have been fine if they weren't possibly still betrothed.

Castiel released a heavy sigh and trudged closer to the lake in front of him.

"Please get us water Castiel, we're thirsty." Luke repeated that line and many variations of that line until Castiel finally gave in and went to retrieve it. He was certain at first that the hunters brought enough water to last through the trip, even with the set back.

But these weren't experienced guards after all. They were Dean's friends…

The water was blue unlike the majority of the remaining waters in Iad.

He remembered not too long ago when they were still looking for Dean and traveling on foot back to camp they came across one of Iad's ponds. The water was orange – Castiel made sure to check if his eyes were encoding correctly. There were plump bubbles filled with goo growing and popping at every angle while strange red-eyed creatures swam around inside as easily as angels glide through the skies of Himmel. Jo was the first person to come in contact with it, it would have been Castiel but he stopped to figure out why it smelled the way it did.

"Good thing we brought water or else we'd be drinking that."

"We will be drinking that," Castiel murmured and with another deep sigh, he raised the bucket over his head and dunked it down into the water.

Castiel descended onto his knees and sniffed a long full one and nodded with satisfaction that the water smelled normal. He really hoped it was not poisoned completely, if something happened to Dean because of water he would never be able to forgive himself.

Now how does one go about making a human fall in love with them? Castiel very rarely wasted his time with the study of human emotions and love rituals; they weren't as interesting as Science and Physics, all miracles of his father's creation. Now he hated himself for disregarding those studies; human emotions were just as beautiful as Water and Gravity. It always shocked Castiel to see the extent to which a human could love one another he's seen some loved each other more than they loved his Father. How people could love such flawed beings more than God baffled the mind.

But, who was Castiel to talk? For years his love for Dean had been growing to the point where he even doubted his father's own plans for him.

The water was full after only a couple of dips and Castiel began walking back to camp. The winds were once again steadying and the strange heat that enveloped this land was only becoming more noticeable. He had to get it back to the humans so that they could be hydrated; they were nearing the end of their journey but that didn't mean they were almost home. They still had more walking to do and they would need the water.

The red leafed trees twitched and fluttered but for the most part were as still as the roots that kept them there. The grounds also seemed stiller, the dust did not blow and the green grass did not so much as shift position. They instead cracked and broke under Castiel's feet, all much drier than they should be in the middle of spring.

Castiel decided to "accidentally" trip causing small drops of water to escape the bucket and dust over the greenery under his feet.

A warm feeling flowed from the plants and Castiel could not help but smile. With one last look at the seemingly brighter plants, Castiel continued on his journey.

_Courting_.

That was how humans got other humans to fall in love with them. Castiel could remember very vaguely a paper he wrote on the courting practices of humans compared to animals. But, it was so long ago, Castiel wasn't sure he could trust the little bit of information he did remember…

"Perhaps I can ask one of the others," Castiel mused aloud.

Shaking his head, Castile grimaced. He could not possibly ask a human for advice – they were all gossips and he had too much pride for that.

But, if he didn't then what was he supposed to do?

The campsite came into sight in a much shorter amount of time then the lake had initially. Castiel pondered that phenomenon for a short time before shaking his head, deciding that he had more important things to concern himself about at the moment.

And that important thing was currently leaning on the tree that sat only five or six feet in front of him. Dean was looking at him strangely when Castiel finally noticed he was there.

Feeling embarrassment shoot up his spine, Castiel dropped his gaze away from the green-eyed man in front of him to the puddle he created on the top of his shoes. All he could think about was how stupid he must have looked staring at nothing when Dean was only a couple of feet in front of him.

"Thanks Cas." Dean had long since approached him and with his uninjured left hand, took one of the buckets away from him.

Castiel scrambled to regain the bucket, now painfully aware of the damage his wondering mind had on him. "No, Dean. You shouldn't – I've got it."

"Nah, Cas it's cool. I got it. You got the water, the least a lazy-ass like I can do it carry it –"

"You're not lazy," Castiel interjected, but Dean ignored him and kept moving.

"I would get both, but my hand still ain't workin'," Dean explained regretfully.

Castiel shook his head. "No," He said. "I wouldn't expect you to carry so much. I volunteered after all."

Dean turned around and gave Castiel one of his winning smiles before shuffling off awkwardly. Castiel watched him go but could not get that smile out of his mind. He knew he had to make Dean his. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if Dean belonged to anyone else.

But how?

Castiel knew that there was one person on this mission who knew the answer to that, only one person who knew Dean well enough to know exactly what Castiel had to do to open his heart… one person…

He wasn't going to like this.

* * *

Luke barked out an obviously exaggerated laugh – rolling tears, slapping knee, held thrusting back – while Castiel looked at him sheepishly. Who else but Luke would know such personal information about Dean's turn-on's, turn-offs, wants and fears?

But, as usual with Luke, you had to suffer through grueling humiliation before you ever got to the deep, true, philosophical information. "Dude, Dean and you would be so perfect and so hilarious at the same time."

Castiel fought the urge to roll his eyes and instead clenched his jaw and balled up his fists. "I'm happy we'll become such an amusement to you. But, can you please help me?"

Luke cleared his throat and nodded. "Sorry man. But, there's not much to say."

Castiel frowned. Was he trying to say that there was no chance for two of them so there was no point talking about it because it was a lost cause? _When did I become so neurotic?_ Castiel asked himself.

"What do you mean?"

"Dean already likes you Cas. I mean, he likes you a lot, always has. You know that…"

Castiel could have sighed in relief, but stifled himself. "Well, of course he used to when he was a child but that was a very long time ago. I figured after my long absence Dean would no longer see me through a child's eyes."

"Child eyes, adult eyes, what's the difference?"

Castiel didn't really want to explain his twisted logic, but he did need help. "When Dean was little he saw me as his best friend, every human eventually develops an infatuation with a close friend. Especially when they're young. But, now that Dean is an adult he can meet and befriend people much better than me. They may be more physically attractive or have more distinctive personalities. I'm afraid he had become disillusioned."

"Believe me, if Dean was going to become disillusioned by you he would have a long time ago. He has met some-" Luke whistled. "- some smokin' hot people."

Castiel pouted. "Thank you."

Luke chuckled and shook his head. "Cas, Dean still likes you. You're job is just to show him that you're interested."

"Interested?" Castiel cocked his head to the side; had he not been upfront enough. He told Dean that he meant a lot to him many times since they met up again.

"I know what you're thinking and no- telling someone they mean a lot to you does not show interest. Hell, I say that to him almost every time he almost dies and you don't see me trying to shove my cock into him every time we're near each other."

Castiel furrowed his eyebrows at the coarse imagery but continued listening attentively.

"See, now what you have to do is approach him sexually. You know, a few sly touches here and a little whispering just close enough to his ear that your bottom lip just barely touches his earlobe…"

Castiel shook his head. "But, I'm interested in Dean for more reasons than just sexual. I want to marry him… not have sex with him."

Luke rolled his eyes and mumbled what sounded like, "You don't know marriage."

"I want to be with him for the rest of his life."

"Duh Cas. I didn't expect an angel, especially one like you, to be in it for sex. I know you want to be with him forever but all I'm saying is Dean responds to sex quicker than he responds to anything. If you go on the way you're going with Dean he isn't going to realize your feelings for another, hell, fifty years."

Castiel stood from his place on Luke's floor mat and with his chin held high, he said. "There are other methods."

Luke shrugged. "Well good luck…" Luke said with a smile.

Castiel nodded and turned to leave when Luke spoke again. "You're going to need it."

Castiel sent him a glare before moving along, figuring that the old courting methods would have to do. Dean would realize soon and if Luke was right about Dean actually liking him then they would be happy soon.

"Remember, fifty years!" Luke shouted after him.

Castiel rolled his eyes; Luke didn't know what he was talking about. There were things in this world more important and life altering than sex… his methods will work just as well.

* * *

Castiel had no idea that finding flowers in Iad would be more difficult than finding the Holy Grail (his brother Uriel found it a mere nine hundred years ago).

The depletion of the plant species in Iad never seemed so obvious as when Castiel was actually searching for them.

Iad's terrain was bleak and emptier than the last time Castiel paid a visit. But, on the other hand, tht had been so long ago before the rise of the demon species. Back when the land still belonged to humans and was filled with lush greenery and ornate fields of blues yellows and pinks – like a city of jewels. It was the most beautiful place in all of Mamot, even more so then Himmel's finest acres. Now it was this. Red everywhere, even the dust was as red as fire under wood. The trees were as black as soil and the leaves, despite the spring season, looked like they would in very late autumn: brown, red, yellow or just plain black. How was he expected to find any flowers?

For miles all Castiel could see was dirt and gently swaying trees. He had less than five hours left before dawn arrived and the humans would start searching for him.

Castiel's eyes scanned the terrain one last time and his eyes fell upon a small group of flowers that were conveniently bunched up in between an imposing tree and a wild bush of red leaves.

Castiel approached the small group, frowning when he took in their color. They were red too, not that there was anything wrong with red flowers - after all one of Castiel's favorites were red roses - but it was so different from anything Castiel ever saw before. It was the same color as the ground, taking on more of a dusty red color rather than a beautiful grand one. But they would have to do...

Castiel quickly picked them and made his way back to camp, glancing down at the red petals he grimaced. They emitted a pungent odor, he really hoped Dean didn't smell it.

He arrived back to the camp when it was still dark, Lucas and Anna gave him strange looks but he disregarded them. He got his flowers. They always worked, at least that's what his studies two hundred years ago told him. He would present the bunch to Dean and he would immediately fall in love with him and thank him with a big kiss. After that, Castiel would feel comfortable asking Dean to go steady. The plan was fool proof.

As soon as the guys woke up, Castiel approached his soon-to-beau. The young man crawled out of his tent on his hands and knees; his eyes were dropping, there was a bit of saliva on the side of his mouth, his hair was in absolute disarray and his cheeks had the imprint of a poorly crafted pillow. Castiel sighed; he was so beautiful.

"Dean," Castiel said as he approached the groaning and moaning man in front of him.

Dean regarded him with tired eyes and a very deep, irritated frown. Castiel didn't let that get him down, he held the red flowers out to the man in front of him and keeping his face straight, he said, "These are for you."

The irritation dissolved from Dean's face and shock took it's place, but of course, not with out a bit of embarrassment coloring his features.

"Cas." Dean's mouth moved but no distinguishable sounds came out of it. He looked at Castiel with wide shining green eyes and for a moment Castiel would swear to his father he saw a bit of love there and if not love, then admiration.

He knew he was right! Luke was going to be so embarrassed when he found out his sex advice didn't work. Castiel almost patted himself on the back but then he noticed Dean was talking.

"-Flowers are these?"

Though he didn't hear the whole thing, Castiel could infer what he meant and he had no idea how to answer. He'd just picked them out of the group and rushed back to camp, not taking anytime to study it or even touch anything other than the stems. Acknowledging it closely, Castiel noted the yellow stigma and the spread out petals that stuck out erect in every possible direction. If Castiel hadn't known any better he would have thought it was a daisy. But, the color, well it threw him through a loop. He never saw a red daisy with a stigma that yellow.

"I'm not sure."

Dean frowned and glanced at the flower nervously. "It's just that, I'm usually allergic to some of them, you know especially -" Dean inhaled sharply and his head fell forward in a violent sneeze. Castiel tried to jump back but he was too late and Dean's forehead collided "head on" with Castiel's forehead. The angel barely felt a thing but Dean thrust backwards as if he'd been punched.

"...God!" Dean snapped and gripped his forehead.

Castiel placed both of his hands on Dean's shoulders and peered into his eyes. "Are you okay?"

Dean looked at him with glazed eyes and for a second Castiel was sure that he was really hurt, then the boy released an even more monstrous sneeze. Castiel looked at the flowers accusingly and noticed Dean's frequent sneezing was blowing dust off of the them.

So it wasn't a strange form of red... no the flower was...

Castiel gulped and looked at Dean with wide eyes. The flowers were white.

Dean cracked open one eye and after one glance at the now cleaned flowers, he dropped them on the ground. He sneezed again and stepped away from Castiel and his flowers.

"Daisies? You gave me daisies... you-" Dean sneezed with a small thrust of his neck and torso. "Idiot!"

Castiel scowled and felt small bursts of anger filling his insides at being called an idiot just for trying to be nice. He was about to say just that to his betrothed but then Dean sneezed again and looked at Castiel with the most miserable expression that he ever saw and he just couldn't do it.

"I'm so sorry Dean."

Whatever aggravation Dean did have left dissipated and he opened his mouth to speak but the only thing that came out was a loud 'Achoo' followed by a spread of saliva and mucus all over the place including Castiel's face and for the first time ever, Castiel lurched away from Dean.

"Sorry," Dean muttered quickly before speeding off in the direction of the lake.

Castiel watched him go, feeling much sadder than ever before. How was he supposed to know that Dean had an allergic reaction to flowers? When he was young they spent the majority of their time in the royal gardens. But, on the other hand, there never was a daisy in that garden. Castiel scratched an angry itch on his forehead; this courting business was going to be confusing.

* * *

Candies. In his classical thesis, Castiel always cited candies as the way to anyone's heart. What human didn't love sweet round things that lit up one's taste buds? And from prior observation Castiel knew Dean loved sweets.

The only problem, of course, was that they were in the middle of demon territory and if there were any small shops around there was no way he could just walk up and ask for things. He would have to improvise it seemed. He asked Luke, Trent and Jo whether or not they had any sweet foods with them.

Luke gave him a small piece of fruit.

Trent gave him a piece of pie

And Jo gave him blue cheese.

It was an interesting assortment but Castiel didn't bother deciding whether or not the mixture was dangerous to Dean's stomach and in his excitement he presented them to Dean while they were walking, wrapped firmly in some white cloth. The look Dean gave him when he saw them lit Castiel's insides on fire.

"God Cas, you must've been readin' my mind." Dean said, grabbing hold of the pie and scarfing it down his throat in the most unkingly manner that Castiel ever saw. He grimaced and turned away; that was definitely going to be a problem in the future. But, he would have to manage.

Dean moaned and the strangest tremor rippled through Castiel's body. He didn't know why but Castiel would not mind hearing Dean moan like that again and again and again...

"That was so good," Dean groaned and ran his hand over his mouth, brushing crumbs away and then he put his hand on Castiel's shoulder. "Man, I fuckin' love you. I was so hungry."

Castiel felt his eyes light up when Dean said those words, but quickly reminded himself that that was the food talking. He held out the rest of the food to Dean. "I was hoping you were," he mumbled. "I'm afraid I don't have too much of a selection for you."

Dean picked the fruit from the cloth and popped it into his mouth, followed by the cheese. Castiel couldn't watch him stuff his face; it was a disgusting sight. But, he couldn't stop smiling. It worked. Now he was one step closer to making Dean really love him.

They continued walking side by side for a while, neither spoke. But, Castiel could see Dean turning toward him and looking at him, smiling. Castiel did the same, frequently. He wanted to catch Dean's eye and perhaps grasp his current feelings for him. But, it was impossible because Dean always looked away when Castiel tried. It was annoying, but the fact that Dean was even looking at him was exciting enough.

Before they knew it, they made it to actual green land, land that Castiel recognized as one of his favorite botany spots in all of Mamot. He couldn't help but smile in remembrance; he'd spent a lot of time with his brothers here; especially Michael who used to indulge him in every way.

Because of his new good mood, Castiel decided to help Dean set up his tent. Everything went okay for a while and Dean laughed and joked like always, but that all changed abruptly. His eyes were squeezed shut; he continuously stopped to rub or pat his stomach and in some instances, his throat and shuffled uneasily. At one point, Dean stayed down too long and started coughing and beating his chest with his fist. Bending down to Dean's level, Castiel gripped Dean's shoulders and pulled him close to his chest.

"Are you okay?" He knew his voice was frantic, but there wasn't much he could do about that, he was worried.

Dean nodded slowly but stayed in his hunched over position. He coughed again, only this time it was much softer and then, without warning, Dean heaved and released entirely too many colorful fluids from his mouth and onto the green grass.

Castiel immediately placed his hands on Dean's neck, massaging it gently while Dean vomited like a piston. He could vaguely hear Jo and the angels making disgusted noises while Luke laughed. But, he couldn't really concentrate on that with the depressing weight in the pit of his stomach.

He should've known feeding Dean that bizarre mixture of foods would prove disruptive. Once again Dean was impeding his judgment.

After roughly a minute of vomiting, Dean collected himself and got onto his feet. His features worked when he saw and apparently, smelled the stinking fluids that were so close to his tent. He looked at Castiel with a red face and a self-deprecatory smirk.

"Dude, we're gonna have to move this tent."

Castiel nodded in understanding and almost smiled when he realized Dean wasn't going to blame the whole thing on him. He helped Dean unlace the tent and put it in a different position. After they were finished, Dean was about to go off and help the others find firewood but Castiel was having none of that. After much coaxing, he managed to convince Dean to get some much-needed rest.

He went to get the firewood and couldn't stop his face from falling. He made a mistake again; who knew this courting stuff would be so difficult.

Castiel spent the rest of that day wallowing in self-pity. Luke told him that giving Dean food was a nice touch but there was no way Dean was going to realize Castiel loved him that way. Castiel almost throttled the self righteous ass butt, but composed himself and calmly stated that he was not trying to get Dean to realize Castiel loved him but instead to make Dean fall in love with him.

Luke just rolled his eyes and went to Dean's tent, waking him up rather rudely. By nighttime, though, Castiel was feeling much better about his plans. After all, there must have been one thousand courting practices that he recorded in that paper all those years ago. Just because he screwed up the first two does not mean that the other nine hundred ninety eight didn't have a chance to work.

Only problem was that he did not remember all of that too well. He could recall one but he didn't see how it would work.

How could he possible share any interests with Dean when, from what Castiel has collected during his previous conversations with him and Luke, the majority of his interests ranged from fighting, guns, horses and sex.

Castiel pursed his lips and looked into the sky; the sex part actually didn't sound too bad, it almost sounded interesting. But, doing that would most definitely be following Luke's advice and Castiel wasn't interested in giving in just yet.

When the guys got back from collecting supplies that ranged from the cleanest water they could find, dead fish, some kind of large leaves and sour fruit. Castiel decided to approach Dean about possibly tending to Impala together, but then he saw it. Dean's other interest that he knew almost nothing about.

Trent handed each one of the hunters a leaf and pulled out a purple glass bottle with a brown cork shoved inside of it. Popping off the cork, he poured the clear liquid into each one of their leaves. Castiel was sure he was giving them water until he saw their reactions. Jo rolled her eyes into the back of her head and a smile lit up her face, Luke was smiling and chuckling while Dean shook his face as if he was a wet dog. Castiel half-wanted to go over and reprimand each one of them for drinking while they were in enemy territory but this was his one chance...

"Can I join you?"

They all jumped and looked at Castiel with surprise and annoyance in their eyes.

"Cas, don't do that!" Dean snapped.

Castiel shook his head; humans and their hearing disabilities. "I would like to join you."

Jo looked unsure. "Can angel's drink?" She asked herself more than she asked Cas.

Luke scowled. "Better question, are they even supposed to?"

"Guy's shut the hell up!" Dean, once again, snapped. "If Cas wants to embarrass himself by getting Angel drunk in front of all of us then that's on him."

"Thank you Dean." Castiel sat down beside Dean deciding to ignore his comment about his ability to hold alcohol. All four of them gave each other strange looks from across the fire but he didn't care. He grabbed a leaf from Trent's offering hand and held it out to Jo, who was holding the bottle. She poured it slowly and then snatched her arm back as if Castiel bit her.

He surveyed the alcohol, sniffing and licking it. And upon confirming that the only thing poisonous about it was its alcoholic contents he took a very long sip. Upon swallowing the burning substance, Castiel grimaced. Why would humans enjoy such things?

When his eyes left the empty leaf, he saw that they were all looking at him with the same expressions of disbelief and horror, everyone except Dean, who was shocked but who's lips were quivering into a small smile.

Castiel saw this as a good thing, of course. Dean's smiles were always a good thing. He extended his leaf out a second time. "Can I have some more please?"

Jo sat frozen and none of them made a move to grant his request except for Dean, who reached past Castiel and plucked the purple bottle out of Jo's hands.

"Here..." Dean said as he poured the liquid into Castiel's leaf.

Castiel inhaled it once more.

Dean barked out a laugh and looking at Luke, said with the most delightful mischief glimmering in his eyes. "Dude, we're going to get Cas drunk tonight!"

Luke beamed and nodded.

Castiel, on the other hand, frowned and looked at Dean, now serious. "Angel's don't get drunk."

"Cas, there's no way you know that for sure."

"But, I do know for sure."

Dean frowned and shoved Castiel lightly. "Just humor me, okay."

He nodded. "Fine, whatever you wish."

With that said, Dean added more alcohol to his leaf and then poured more into Castiel's before passing it on. Castiel watched the determined glint in Dean's eyes and knew that his new plan was going to be trouble.

* * *

By the middle of the night, Castiel was as sober as a night spent in the prayer room and Dean was about as sober as someone who spent three hours binge drinking. Which makes sense because that's what he did.

Not that the other hunters weren't doing the same thing, but they were doing it in much smaller portions. Dean was chugging the stuff down like water and was starting to look a little angry. Castiel half-knew Dean was trying to compete with him, he expressed the point to Luke who only chuckled.

"Why do you think that?"

Castiel turned to Dean while taking a shallow sip on his drink and watched Dean take another much longer sip of his own and glare at him with slurred malice in his eyes. Castiel shrugged and looked back at Luke.

"Just a hunch."

Luke shook his head and smiled. "You're seeing things."

"I don't think so."

Castiel ducked away from a flying leaf, which he always thought was too light to be slung like that but he was wrong based on the force which it hit Luke's hand.

"You're - a - you're a asshole - you - damn it- you stupid angel. I hope you fucking get alcohol poisoning and - " Dean fell out then, somewhere near the fires. All of his friends started laughing at him while Castiel hopped up and walked toward the unconscious man. He turned Dean onto his back and frowned when he saw dust stain on his cheeks and eyelids, he wiped them away and looked accusingly at the humans in front of him.

"This isn't funny, Dean's hurt!"

"Man, he's not hurt. He's wasted!"

Castiel tipped his head to the side.

"He's drunk, just take him back to his tent he should be fine in the morning."

Casiel frowned, but still picked Dean up by the sides of his arms and dragged him into his tent. His bedroll was already out – an obvious sign that the Dean anticipated falling away like this – and Castiel stretched him out on top of it. He didn't know much about the treatment of people as intoxicated as Dean was, but he knew they shouldn't be put on their backs because they might start to vomit and choke.

He laid Dean down on his stomach and patted his back awkwardly. He didn't know what to do in such a situation. But, running his hands over Dean's body seemed to be as valid a response as any.

He didn't know why, but touching Dean sent electric tremors up his spine and into his brain. He loved touching the body of the beautiful man.

But, there was one thing annoying him as per usual. He could not take his eyes off of the pleasant mound of flesh that rose from his very lower back and fell away at his thighs. He never… NEVER thought about touching Dean's butt before in fact, he never thought about touching anyone's butt before that moment. But, it just looked so… so… round.

Without thinking twice, Castiel ran his hand down Dean's back until his palm rested on his round plump backside. When there were no alarms or screaming coming from around him, Castiel sighed and rubbed it slowly. It was nice, nicer than expected. It was really nice! Would he be able to touch Dean in such a private place after they were married without guilt?

He hoped so because it was so nice. It was like sin…

He snatched his hand away as if he'd been burned. He didn't want to technically molest his future (hopefully) husband; but he looked so desirable lying there…

Castiel moaned in resignation and sat completely on his knees, watching the young man. Dean was to be his husband one day… it was perfectly reasonable for one to desire their husband sexually.

And boy did Castiel desire him. He never did before then, he didn't understand why. Perhaps it had something to do with Dean's moaning or perhaps his beauty which seemed to accumulate over the short ten years; or, maybe because now that Dean was passed out in a drunken stupor he finally saw him as an adult…

Either way, he wanted to touch him. He wanted to touch him in ways that were barely appropriate to think about.

Maybe Luke's idea was not so bad after all.


	18. Chapter 20

Title: Ice of Oblivion Chapter 20/24

Fandom/Genre: SPN AU Romance, Drama, Action

Pairing (s): Dean/Castiel

Rating: T

Word Count: ~82,000

Warnings: Underage, Mild Sexual Situation, Violence

Chapter 20

So Castiel started touching Dean more. The boy didn't seem to mind or react any differently to him. But, Castiel was a whole other story. Every time he touched Dean he felt an overwhelming electric surge shoot through his body, whether he was touching his thick jackets or his bare skin he still felt like everything in his entire being was set on fire.

It was still irritating that Dean didn't care enough or didn't notice his new form of advances but it was also a little triumphing to know that Luke's advice didn't work. Dean seemed to be off in his own little world the majority of the day anyways.

When they settled down for the day Castiel decided that he didn't want to follow Dean to bed and was content with resigning himself to a boring night on the lookout for demons and just thinking about Dean but he was interrupted by a rough voice.

"Cas." It was Dean. Castiel craned his neck to see the man on his knees with his head poked out of his tent, waving Castiel over. Castiel turned around, murmuring his short apologies to the angels he was supposed to be patrolling with and walked toward Dean's tent.

Dean smiled at him and poked his head back in the tent while waving for Castiel to follow. He got on his knees and crawled in the tent after Dean; Dean's tent was for the most part, an iota or two bigger than his counterparts. Castiel could at least sit up in it, as well as Dean, if he sits closer to the middle.

As soon as he was inside he saw Dean sitting in the middle of the tent with his legs crossed, biting the side of his lip and looking around nervously. When Castiel ducked in Dean looked at him and smiled a charming little smile. He patted an area a couple of feet in front of him and waited for Castiel to come over and sit down.

"Can I talk to you real quick?" Dean asked him as soon as he was sitting comfortably in his seat.

Castiel nodded now very happy that Dean was reaching out to him about something, by the looks of it, important. "Of course."

Dean nodded quickly and with a short clearing of his throat he started to talk. "I'm uh, I'm starting to remember some stuff…"

Castiel pouted and cocked his head to the side. "Stuff?"

Dean gave Castiel a shy, sort of irritated look before sighing and nodding. "Yeah, I hadn't really thought about the time I spent there – in Iad, I mean - since I saw you again but… they said some weird stuff…"

"Weird stuff… like what?"

"You know, just strange. I thought you might know something about it."

Castiel nodded slowly, not fully understanding but wanting to help regardless. "Just tell me whatever you're thinking… I don't mind…"

"A demon… he told me that –uh – he told me about a prophecy…"

Castiel tried to keep his features neutral but he did feel a bit of irritation; why hadn't John explained all of the prophecy stuff to Dean years ago. The fact that it took a demon to tell Dean what he was put on this earth to do was startling and very disappointing. He nodded knowingly.

"So you know about it? It's true?"

Castiel nodded again.

"I'm the champion of the angels… I'm your champion."

Castiel cleared his throat. "Yes."

Dean looked at Castiel for a long time, he looked upset and confused but not with Castiel it was something or someone completely different. He opened his mouth slowly but it proved to be a false start when he slapped it closed again; he continued to do this for a while and it shocked Castiel when he actually spoke. "How did that happen?"

Castiel shrugged. "That wasn't an intelligent question-"

Dean rolled his eyes. "Thanks Cas."

"You were born with this rite you'll always have it and you always have."

"I know, okay, I understand but I still don't-" Dean cleared his throat. "-Understand."

Castiel nodded and then shook his head. "You're confusing me."

Dean sighed, frustrated. "Obviously, there's a disconnect here. Listen, all I'm saying is that I'm a little nervous okay, how in the hell am I expected to lead an army against an angel as old and experienced as Lucifer is and his big bad demon brigade?"

Castiel cocked his head to the side. He had not expected this reaction from Dean; he'd expected confusion and maybe a little resentment for not being told but flat out denial of his abilities and pure self-doubt were not exactly anticipated

"Dean, that's foolish. Of course you can lead them, you're you."

Dean scoffed.

"My father would not have chosen you if he didn't think you could do it, he put you here for a reason and this was that reason."

Dean raised his eyebrows in mock belief before shaking his head. "But, Cas – "

"Look, why did you call me here if all you were going to do was berate yourself?"

Dean pouted and shrugged.

"I know you very well. And I don't remember you ever acting this way. You've always known that you would make a good leader and that's all we need…"

Dean seemed to tense up some more and he shook his head. "You people need to find someone else to do this job for you because I can't."

Castiel breathed a long heavy sigh of irritation and anger. He knew Dean was stubborn but this was ridiculous; he didn't understand why humans didn't just accept what they were told, why did they have to fight and make everything so difficult. "Dean, there's no one but you. And you know just as well as I do that you are good for this job… just like you're good for everything else you'll be expected to do."

Dean nodded. "Look, I don't want to. When we get back you need to tell your brothers that I don't want anything to do with this war or whatever the hell is going on."

Castiel opened his mouth to reply when he noticed the slightest glint in Dean's eyes. He stared deeply into them and gasped, Dean only scowled and leaned away from him. Castiel breathed out a chuckle and a small twitch-like smile formed on his face. "You're lying."

Dean scrunched his nose. "What?"

"You're not telling the truth," Castiel said, smiling fully now. "You know you could do it just as well as I do."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Whatever… you've served your purpose – I told you what I wanted to tell you – you can go now."

Dean was pointing at the flaps of his tent but Castiel could barely pay attention. He was interested now… if Dean knew he was good for the job then why was he so intent on not doing it. There had to be something else…

"Dean, you can tell me what's bothering you. Just tell me the real reason why you don't want to do it," Castiel said to him with a small smile.

Dean's previous irritation seemed to melt away from his face and he was now looking at Castiel with the same nervousness and sadness that he had when he first came inside. "I can't –" Dean sighed extravagantly and sighed, throwing his arms into the air. "I can't kill Lucifer's champion."

Castiel perked up instantly at the mention of Lucifer's champion. Despite their best efforts in the beginning his brothers were never able to find Lucifer's champion and after a while they gave up all together and instead focused on Dean's upbringing. It only made since that the demons would have found Lucifer's champion by now.

"How do know that? I doubt they're any tougher than you, who ever it is is a mortal after all."

Dean shook his head, frowning deeply. "You don't understand. Lucifer's champion… they told me. They told me – " Dean sighed and slapped his hand over his eyes. "They told me it was Sam."

Castiel openly gasped and wrenched back. Now, that was a shock. The mortal was not meant to be someone like Sam; it was meant to be some mean-spirited human; one who probably bared a grudge against humans, angels or the angels champion himself. A mortal with motive or one who sought revenge. Sam was not like that; he bared none of those qualities. He was a sweet little boy who meant a lot to the people around him.

Castiel breathed a heavy sigh; just as Dean changed during the years that Castiel was not there it was the same with Sam. He didn't know him anymore and he could have changed drastically since ten years ago.

"Has Sam displayed any qualities that may hint at him someday becoming… well…"

"Evil?" Dean filled in.

Castiel nodded.

Dean shook his head. "No, he's the same as always…"

Castiel smiled. "Then everything's fine. Dean, becoming a someone's champion is something you have to agree to do; if Sam doesn't want to do it then there's no way Lucifer will be able to win anything." Castiel was really excited; his father must have preordained this result. They would win the war by default; Sam would never turn against his brother.

"Yeah…" Dean said; there was no excitement or emotion in his voice.

Castiel frowned and scrunched his eyebrows. "Dean, don't you understand. The war is won, Lucifer's champion will not fight his own brother."

"Nah, I think he might."

Castiel frowned and his head did a small dip to the side. "I don't understand."

"I don't think – I don't think Sam will turn on his people but he'll turn on me in a second when he finds out – " Dean's frown deepened and he closed his eyes tight. " – when he finds out what I did."

Castiel was confused for lack of a better word. He frowned and moved closer to Dean, almost until their knees were touching. "What happened?"

Dean opened his eyes and quickly started looking at the ground. He didn't speak for a while and Castiel pressed him on by placing his hand on Dean's shoulder and squeezing it tight. Dean looked at him then and Castiel could already see the sadness and guilt in his wide eyes.

"The day that I got kidnapped – I – uh – I let them –" Dean stopped and cleared his throat. "They gave me a choice. They said they would kill dad if I didn't let them – " Dean inhaled and placed his hand over his mouth.

Castiel placed his other hand on Dean's shoulder and frowned. He thought he might know where this was going… "If you didn't let them what?"

Dean seemed to regain his composure and blank neutrality took over his features. "If I didn't let them kill Jess. So, I told them to do it and they did."

Castiel was taken aback, although he had an idea that this was the case it was still shocking to hear that Dean let that girl get murdered. He tightened his grip on Dean's shoulders and frowned at him.

"He loved that girl since before he'd hit puberty. They were going to get married when they were of-age. Now she's dead because of me and Sam is going to want his revenge." Dean said plainly.

Castiel opened his mouth and closed it; for the first time he was speechless. He knew how much Dean cared for his father and he knew he would do anything for him; but to freely give up an innocent girl's life and not only an innocent girl but his brother's innocent girl was seemed so far beyond his spectrum of belief. He could not believe it. He wanted to think of Dean as an irrational foolish person who was easily tricked by the demons games but when he looked at his guilty face he couldn't – not for a second. He was a pawn in this prophecy as well.

He was the betrothed. He was here to support Dean, not scold him. He was going to help him get through this.

"Listen Dean, we're going to fix this."

Dean shook his head. "Dude, there's nothing we can do."

Castiel nodded. "Just let me take care of it."

Dean smirked. "So you're going to talk to Sam for me and start acting like I real guardian angel, huh?"

Castiel chuckled and then nodded. "Yeah, I'm going to try."

"Thanks…" Dean murmured begrudgingly.

Castiel smiled and allowed his hands to drop back to his sides. He moved away from Dean and smiled at him; they sat there in silence for a while, both just looking at each other. It was a comforting thought; Dean trusted him enough to fix this. The stress and guilt in his eyes disappeared immediately and once again, he was normal and relaxed. It really was a good feeling.

It was a very comfortable silence but there was something nagging at Castiel and he really wanted to ask Dean about it.

"Since you were able to ask me about stuff am I allowed to ask you something that I'm confused about?"

Dean shrugged. "Sure, shoot."

"When you were still unconscious – when we first saved you I mean – Luke mentioned something about you having - about you telling him to save your… well, your 'honey'."

Dean chuckled and dreamily looked into the top of his tent.

Castiel felt his dejection reaching epic proportions; so Dean was in a relationship with someone. It was depressing but understandable, Dean was an amazing person and he was amazing to look at. If he was not already in love with someone Castiel would think there was something wrong.

"How long have you two been together?"

Dean laughed out loud then, his neck bending back and everything. "Together? Dude, I've barely talked to the guy."

Castiel's eyebrows wrinkled and he cocked his head to the side. _That_ was definitely interesting. "But, you looked as if… as if you were in love with this man."

"In Love? Cas, I don't really know him. He's the head healer in the castle, I don't even know his name but I call him Dr. Sexy. I've been trying to work up the courage to ask him to be my boyfriend since I was fifteen. It's a little pathetic really…"

Castiel was definitely confused now. "Then, who are you in love with?" He pressed.

"I'm not in love with anybody."

"But, Luke told me you've been with many people…"

Dean looked to the side and murmured some angry words about his friend before nodding. "Yeah, I've had sex with people, I haven't been in love since I was thirteen."

"Thirteen? With who? What happened to them?"

Dean rolled his eyes. "It was with you and you left."

Castiel was taken aback for a second time that night. He placed his hands in his lap and looked at Dean, amazed. "You were once in love with me?"

Dean slapped his hand on his forehead and sighed. "Yeah Cas, I was thirteen though. Don't let it get to your head."

Castiel wrapped his arms across his chest and frowned. "I wasn't going to… it's just so amazing. I had no idea."

"Dude, I asked you to kiss me. Why the hell did you think I did that?"

He shrugged. "I'm not sure, I thought it might have been some kind of friendly gesture."

Dean threw his hands up and frowned. "You know what, tonight has been embarrassing enough. I think we should call it a night."

Castiel nodded. "Of course Dean … whatever you say. But, first may I ask you another question?"

Dean rolled his eyes but relented without struggle. "What is it now?"

"Did you enjoy our kiss?"

Dean looked irritated for a couple of seconds before that faded away completely, replaced by a bit of amusement and something that Castiel never saw before. "I don't really remember," He said with a slick smirk.

Castiel's face dropped. "Oh, it was so long ago. I shouldn't expect you to… I'm going to go now." Castiel started to amble out of the room but was stopped quickly by Dean's hand on his upper arm.

"But, you could always remind me," Dean said with another emotion that Castiel never heard in his voice before.

He looked at Dean, confused but secretly delighted that he was getting the opportunity to kiss Dean again. He couldn't help but think that this might mean something. "Are you saying you want me to kiss you again?"

Dean shrugged. "Yeah, if you want to."

Castiel smiled and placed his hand on Dean's knee and with no further provocation he pressed his lips against Dean's. Dean immediately wrapped his arms around Castiel's neck and kissed him hard. Castiel was shocked by the roughness of the kiss but something stirred within his stomach that made all of that shock simmer away. He returned the roughness eagerly and was shocked once again when he felt the inside of Dean's mouth on the outside of his own. Trying to imitate him, he opened his mouth and within seconds Dean's tongue was slithering around inside of Castiel's mouth. And once again he felt something stir within his stomach and lower.

He was too into the kiss to pay attention though. Dean surely improved his kissing skills since he was thirteen years old; this new style of kissing changed everything within Castiel. He wanted so much more of Dean and so much more of kisses like this.

Dean moved closer and his chest was pressed tight against Castiel's. Castiel didn't know what was happening or what was about to happen. But, he never felt better than he did at that moment and he didn't want to stop.

But, something did happen and Dean stopped.

Castiel didn't understand but he saw that Dean was looking down at something that was on his body. He frowned; what could possibly be more interesting than what they were doing at that moment. When he looked at Dean again he saw that the boy was smirking, amused.

Castiel looked down and gulped when he saw it. There was a tent in his pants; he was aroused, Dean aroused him. He pulled away from Dean quickly and shuffled backwards.

"I apologize – I'm going to – " Without waiting for Dean to say anything he shuffled out of the tent and ran away.

* * *

Castiel spent the rest of the night in intolerable embarrassment. He stayed on his "patrol" for the majority of the night. He would have stayed on it forever if he could – he could not bear to think about his startling behavior in front of his friend. He didn't mean to be so forward with him; it was unexpected. His body never reacted to a human like that before; he didn't even know his anatomy worked the same as the humans.

But, they did morph into the human forms when they became outnumbered and it only made sense that he would… react.

His condition lasted for all of an hour and it was a wholly painful experience. He didn't understand how humans could go through such conditions for extended periods of time; he hoped he would never have to go through such an experience again but he knew that if he ever pressed any other part of his body against Dean's it would happen again.

He would have to find Dean and explain the situation. Then he would beg his forgiveness.

When he made it back to the camp the sun was just starting to peek over the horizon and all of the humans were creeping out of their respective tents – Castiel noted with a small twitch of his eyelids that Trent and Jo were creeping out of the same tent.

When Castiel saw Dean crawling out of his tent on all fours with half-lidded eyes and dry slightly parted lips he felt an all too familiar tingle light up his lower stomach. He hid himself from Dean's view and exhaled slowly while Dean shuffled away from the camp.

He looked down and released a heavy sigh of relief; his body didn't react at all to Dean's vulgar position. He took a few more minutes to compose himself before going to find Dean.

He followed his "warmth" and as much of his essence as his body could possibly stand. What he saw was way too much to handle…

He found Dean on the edge of a blue lake. He was standing in waist deep in the flowing water while running his fingers through the small amount of hair on his head; he held a small bar of soap in his hands – making the entire area smell like peppermint and limes – and slowly ran it down his body. Castiel watched, entranced, as the tiny pink suds ran down Dean's body and created a small cloud at Dean's waist, shielding his nether regions from view. His body was reacting and for the love of god, he didn't care. Dean was so… pleasing to the eye for lack of a better phrase.

Dean looked tensed and a little upset, he was slapping the water around and groaning every couple of seconds. When he noticed Castiel there – staring at him – he looked confused but his entire demeanor changed.

"Cas," Dean started before closing his mouth and peering down at the water beneath him.

Castiel dragged his eyes away from Dean's torso and looked at his face – which was equally as pleasing to look at – and frowned. "Dean."

There was a long moment of silence when neither man said a word before Dean broke the silent spell.

"Look, Cas, last night I –"

Castiel knew it was rude, but he interrupted Dean before he could start to make any points about Castiel's embarrassing behavior the day before. "I apologize for running out on you the way I did. Something came over me –"

And as rude as Castiel knew Dean knew it was, Dean interrupted him. "I shouldn't have tried to make you kiss me, it was just some stupid childhood…" Dean twisted his arms around in circles for a while, apparently looking for the correct word and all he came up with was, "fantasy."

Castiel straightened his new overcoat quickly when he heard that he was Dean's fantasy, it was so flattering. But, he didn't let that distract him. He had to explain to Dean what happened yesterday; he knew he would be able to explain it better than anyone else.

"No, Dean you didn't force me into anything. You have to believe me when I say that there was nothing else in this world that I wanted to do more than kiss you last night."

Dean's eyes widened for all of two seconds before a cocky smirk formed on his face and he was nodding to himself, having a lot of confidence for someone who was currently nude. "Really?"

Castiel nodded and crept closer to the lake; he had a slightly better view of Dean's "frontal" but he choose to ignore it in favor of explaining to Dean what happened.

"Yes, really. Last night's kiss was one of the best experiences of my life… but I made a mistake… my body made a mistake. I didn't know what to do so I just – left."

Dean was starting to look humored but Castiel could also see a bit of knowing in his eyes. His smirk was only growing and becoming more smug as time went on; he swam a little closer to where Castiel was standing and looked up at him with wide green eyes, "What happened?"

Castiel cleared his throat, not exactly wanting to explain but knowing that he was already close to gaining Dean's forgiveness and he would have to eventually. He opened his mouth to speak and found his face was becoming warmer and warmer. "Well – uh – it was the strangest thing.. you see, when you were so close to me when we were – what did you call it? – Swapping spit?" Dean nodded. "I felt this tingling in my gut and I was - then there was… well a bodily experience-"

Dean huffed out a loud bark-like laugh and grinned toothily. "Dude, you got hard."

Castiel frowned. Hard? He shook his head and frowned. "No, one of my bodily appendages –"

"Cas, it's called getting hard," Dean said slowly. "I got you hard."

Castiel cleared his throat for a second time and nodded, trusting Dean's judgment. "Yes, you made me… hard…"

Dean was looking at Castiel in a lighthearted manner, all of the stress that was on his face fading away. Castiel was happy that Dean was not upset with him and instead seemed to understand his situation.

"Man, you're hard right now."

Castiel looked down and frowned when he saw his "appendage" was pressing against the zipper of his pants. Well, he knew that was going to happen but he hoped Dean didn't notice.

But, of course he did and in no time he was laughing at him.

"I apologize…"

Dean shook his head. "Nah man, it's fine. Perfectly normal."

Castiel nodded and then turned away. "Umm… I'm going to walk this one off."

"No," Dean said quickly. Castiel turned around and frowned, cocking his head to the side at the leering man in the lake. "I can – uh – take care of it for ya."

Castiel's eyes widened and he walked closer to the lake until he was on the very edge of it. "You can do that?"

"Yeah, I can," Dean said, he moved away from the edge of lake and moved back to give Castiel room to come in.

The angel looked at the small amount of room in front of Dean that was given to him and frowned, confused with Dean's intentions. He really wanted to start walking to get rid of this aching pain on his penile area. "I don't understand."

"Cas," Dean snapped, very irritated. "Just get in the water."

Without thinking too much about it, Castiel walked into the water. Dean burst out laughing and Castiel realized that, unlike Dean, he still had all of his clothes on. Castiel felt his face going warm; the cold water seemed to dull his "hardness" but with one look at the wet Dean it seemed to hop on up again. He was so embarrassed; once again… Dean was killing his judgment but when he looked up at his striking face he didn't care.

Within seconds, Dean was smiling brashly and moving close to Castiel until their bodies were pressed up close to once another. Dean placed his hand on the inside of Castiel's jacket and ran his hands along the seams until he reached the Castiel's pants.

"What – What are you – " Castiel asked him as his eyes snapped back and forth between Dean's hand and his face. He was smirking at him and then, within seconds his "hardness" was released into the open water and Dean's strong hand was wrapped around it.

Castiel openly groaned as his entire being was released into the lake water. He felt something come out and then he was breathing heavily and leaning hard on Dean's shoulder as the man continued to rub his hand all over Castiel's deflated problem. It was one of the best things Castiel ever felt… it was grand and it was because of Dean.

He lifted himself off of Dean's shoulder and looked him in his big green eyes. "Dean, what did you just do?"

Dean just chuckled and then his hand was on the back of Castiel's head and he pulled the angel into his lips. Castiel wrapped his arms around Dean's back as the man rubbed his tongue and lips all over and throughout his mouth. As he expected, he became hard again in Dean's embrace but Dean helped him out over and over and over again until all Castiel could feel was Dean's lips, Dean's chest and Dean's hands drowning out every other care in the world.

In the thousands of years Castiel was in Mamot, he never felt better.

* * *

They made it back to the camp almost an hour later, everyone gave them strange looks when they noticed how soak and wet Castiel was but no one said anything. They were pretty close to Inim territory by now and would soon be home; they didn't have time to tease.

But, Castiel and Dean sure had time to stare. Castiel walked in the front of the group with the rest of the angels while the humans all lagged behind with their horses, some of them rode but Dean walked his horse. He claimed he was feeling much better – considering his injuries – and wanted to walk a little.

Every couple of seconds, Castiel looked behind him and smiled at the stunning young man with a short little wave. Dean would always smile back and wave. Castiel was feeling pretty good about this courting business.

Dean and he kissed twice, more than twice many many times. That meant that Dean liked him right? Castiel knew that he liked Dean.

If his timing was correct than the man was sure to respond to Castiel's in love feelings. It was only natural. Looking back at Dean one more time, Castiel smirked. Yes, Dean would be susceptible.

Castiel walked behind the group until he was directly beside Dean.

"What's up," Dean asked when Castiel was directly beside him.

Castiel scowled and thought hard. Was he supposed to kiss Dean and then ask him to go steady or was there some other formula…

A Hug? Sex? Holding Hands?

Castiel shrugged, that sounded as good as anything. He reached to Dean's and without much deliberation Dean accepted his offered hand. Castiel loved how warm Dean's hand was inside of his own; that was definitely a good sign for the future.

"Dean, I've decided we're going steady."

Dean's features worked. "Steady?"

Castiel nodded. "Do you accept?"

Dean chuckled and shrugged. "Sure, what the hell."

Castiel beamed and squeezed Dean's hand tighter, which only made Dean squeeze his back, He looked at the now adult man - who used to be such an amazing little kid - and decided that though Dean was different, much different, from who he was when he was a little kid he loved him nonetheless.

And besides, he preferred him better as an adult. He was taller, his body was beautiful, he was rash and not so much in his father's shadow and best of all, they could touch each other all they want without it seeming inappropriate.

Life was perfect, in a few short days Castiel would make Dean fall in love with him and they would live the rest of Dean's life as married partners. What could ruin this?


	19. Chapter 21

Title: Ice of Oblivion Chapter 21/24

Fandom/Genre: SPN AU Romance, Drama, Action

Pairing (s): Dean/Castiel

Rating: T

Word Count: ~82,000

Warnings: Underage, Mild Sexual Situation, Violence

* * *

**Chapter 21**

As luck would have it, life was not savvy with letting the couple stay happy. Less than a day later, Dean and Castiel were trailing at the back of the group with Impala on their tails. Everyone knew about them by now but no one really commented; though Castiel did notice some of the humans looking back at the two of them with sly smirks on their faces.

After kissing Dean on the cheek, Castiel told him that he wanted to ask the angels something and walked up to do that, now feeling lighter than he ever had in his lifetime. At least until he heard Dean's cautious voice from behind him.

"Cas, baby –"

"I thought I asked you not to call me baby, it's demeaning," Castiel claimed with a small chuckle.

"What are these?"

It was something about the quivers in Dean's voice and the short lapse in his speech that made Castiel freeze in his steps. "What are you talking about," Castiel asked.

He thought he knew; or at least he might know and if he was right…

He could hear Dean's angry stomps coming toward him and he released a long sigh. He allowed Dean to angrily turn him around and he cringed when he saw the mixture of hurt and anger in those green orbs. He glanced quickly at the bundle of small folded papers in Dean's hands and grimaced. "Dea, that… that…"

"I thought you didn't get any of my letters," Dean said accusingly and regretfully.

Castiel knew he was caught but his subconscious still wanted to fight this. He didn't want to go back to the way things were when they first met; he didn't want Dean to hate him. But, he made a mistake. He lied to Dean about something trivial… but still something that was very important to him.

"I lied to you."

Dean flinched slightly and then brutally threw the letters to the ground. He stepped in front of Castiel and looked at him, all of the anger now disappeared leaving only hurt in its wake. "You knew all this time how much I missed you, how much I wanted you there."

Castiel shook his head. "No, Dean, I never read them."

"They're all open."

Castiel cleared his throat. "I know… I only just read them because I was coming here."

"Why the hell would you lie? Did you care about me at all?"

That Castiel would easily take offence to; he grabbed Dean's hands and took them into his own. "Of course I did, I still do."

Dean snatched his hands out of Castiel's and smirked. "But, you abandoned me."

Castiel cleared his throat and nodded. "Yes I did."

Dean released a soft chuckle and then waved his hands out at Castiel; he turned away and started to walk toward the front of the group, even leaving his precious Impala.

"But, Dean, there's a perfectly good explanation - "

"I don't want to hear it," Dean interrupted. When Dean got close enough to everyone else, who were all looking at the scene in shock, he pointed at them all. "Keep him away from me!"

They all nodded, though begrudgingly, and Dean took his place at the front of the pack.

Castiel released a heavy sigh; he saw that all of Dean's friends were torn on whom to talk to but he gave them a reassuring smile and started to walk the Impala. He had not expected such a swift turn in events but he could not allow his life to take a downward spiral. He'd worked for Dean and intended to keep him. He would just have to explain why he did what he did and this time he was going to be honest.

The only problem was: his honest tale was way more pitiful than his lie.

* * *

He ended up cornering Dean a day later after they set up camp for the day; the human prince slipped away from camp to collect supplies. Castiel didn't know why but he was convinced it was not that important. But, he has terrible timing. Dean was less than a couple of feet away from the camp when Castiel came up behind him. This had the opposite effect than Castiel expected.

Dean didn't turn around and start yelling at him or even make much of a fuss. He turned around, looked at Castiel once and then turned back around only looking slightly frustrated.

"What do you want," Dean asked him while trying to walk forward.

Castiel trailed behind him and spoke loudly. "I just want to make sure you're not angry with me."

Dean sighed and continued walking. "Cas, I'm not mad at you."

"You were mad at me yesterday."

Dean gave Castiel an annoyed look and started to walk faster.

"I completely understand why you were angry… you had every right to be after what I did…"

Dean whipped around and gave Castiel a stern look. "Look, I was thirteen years old. You weren't my jilted lover or anything… you didn't have to come back."

"But I – I – kind of was."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Let it go, I don't care and I'm not mad at you. Just –" Dean waved his arm at him. "Just go back – I'll be back in a few, I'm just going to get some water."

When Dean started to walk away again Castiel ran up and grabbed his upper arm. "But, Dean –"

Dean turned around and smashed his lips against Castiel's. The angel was shocked but he immediately reacted, kissing Dean back and wrapping his arms around Dean. They stayed that way for a while before Dean pulled away with the small tinge of sadness in his eyes.

"Cas, I really don't care what happened. You don't have to explain yourself because it's in the past… just let it go, please."

Castiel could have left it at that; Dean said he didn't care and that was enough. But, he wanted Dean to know why.

Dean started to turn around again, but Castiel placed his hands on Dean's cheeks and forced him to look at him. "Dean, we're betrothed."

Dean's eyebrows wrinkled and he cocked his head to the side. "What?"

"We're betrothed, we have been since before we met."

Dean looked at him blankly and didn't speak.

Castiel exhaled. "I've loved you since the very moment that I met you; you were always so warm and beautiful and loving and so, so strong Dean. I was so excited to marry you, all I wanted to do was watch you grow and become the beautiful person that you are today. And I am so proud of you Dean, so proud."

"You love me?"

Castiel nodded.

Dean opened his mouth to speak before slamming it closed again. He snatched away from Castiel's hands and backed away. "Then, why the hell did you leave?"

Castiel frowned, slightly taken aback by Dean's hostility. He cleared his throat and continued, "It was because of what happened to you. That day when you were attacked and I saw you knocking on death's door… I began to think about what it would be like when you died, as humans often do. I couldn't handle it; I wanted to escape and being away from you just made it worse. I just started to love you more and started to hate myself more than ever. I came back because I wanted to apologize and more than anything else, I want to make you my husband…"

There was a long stretch of silence in which Castiel looked pleadingly at Dean and Dean looked at Castiel blankly. But, then Dean's eyes softened and he started to look normal again – the same old Dean.

"So- uh- what do we do now?"

Castiel shrugged and placed his hand on Dean's shoulder. "I don't know about that but I do know - I don't want to be away from you anymore."

Dean smiled at him.

Everything was perfect.

Then there was a loud bang.

* * *

Sorry this took so long, the last parts will be up soon!


End file.
